Ukraine and China fears drag down Asian markets
The Nikkei has hit a one-month low in Friday trading, sliding 3.3 per cent, as concerns over Chinese growth and the situation in Ukraine continue to weigh heavy on investors’ minds.
There’s little to add in the way of comforting economic data, and the slowdown in the world second-largest economy and growing tensions over Ukraine – which hit UK stocks yesterday – have seen the Nikkei share average fall 488 points to 14,327.
US and Russian envoys are gearing up to talk about the crisis in Ukraine, ahead of the much-disputed referendum in Crimea on Sunday.
The tumble in Japanese stocks is the biggest weekly one in nine months, as risk aversion has prompted investors to retreat towards the yen.
Japanese industrial production rose 3.8 per cent in February – an improvement on January’s modest increase of 0.9 per cent, but below the consensus estimate of a four per cent rise.
The Topix has fallen over three per cent to 1,165. The Hang Seng is also in the red, down over one per cent at 21,499. The Shanghai Composite index is down 1.2 per cent at 1,994.