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Asian markets sank Wednesday on
renewed concerns about the China-US trade talks after Washington lawmakers
passed a bill supporting Hong Kong civil rights, a move likely to spark anger
in Beijing.
The vote by the senate came as investors were already growing nervous
about the lack of solid news on negotiations for a mini tariffs pact to help
resolve a debilitating and long-running standoff between the economic
superpowers.
China was already angered and expressed “strong indignation” last month
when the US House of Representatives passed a similar measure.
The bill, which must be signed off by Donald Trump, supports “human rights
and democracy” in Hong Kong and threatens to revoke its special economic
status as lawmakers grow concerned about an increasingly tough crackdown on
the months-long protests.
It would require the president to annually review the favourable trade
status Washington grants to the city and allows for sanctions against Hong
Kong and Chinese officials who commit human rights abuses including
“extrajudicial rendition”.
While observers broadly expect the two sides to eventually hammer out some
sort of agreement as part of a wider pact, there have been a number of bumps
in the road, causing anxiety on equity markets.
And Vice President Mike Pence warned Tuesday that the Hong Kong situation
could complicate any deal.
However, AxiTrader’s Stephen Innes said Trump “has been conspicuous by his
silence when it comes to the Hong Kong chaotic escalation. Perhaps Trump sees
a trade deal with Beijing as a more significant priority as he makes his case
for re-election and doesn’t want the Hong Kong bill to act as a stumbling
block”.
– Westpac woes –
But he added that the passage of the bill would make it hard for him to
“hold out against this bipartisan pressure, which could put another snag in
the trade talk lines”.
Adding to the unease, Trump again raised the spectre of more levies on
Chinese goods, warning Tuesday: “If we don’t make a deal with China, I’ll
just raise the tariffs even higher.”
In early trade Hong Kong was down 0.8 percent and Shanghai fell 0.2
percent, while Tokyo finished the morning session down 0.7 percent
Singapore shed 0.5 percent, Seoul sank 0.9 percent and Taipei lost 0.3
percent. Manila and Jakarta also fell.
Sydney dropped more than one percent as financials were hammered by news
that banking giant Westpac had been accused of “serious and systemic”
breaches of money-laundering laws involving more than US$7 billion.
Australia’s financial intelligence agency said it had taken legal action
against the lender for its failure to report more than 19.5 million
international fund transfers, including “high-risk transactions” to Southeast
Asian nations potentially linked to child exploitation.
Oil prices were flat after suffering a hammering on Tuesday because of
worries over the trade talks as well as signs of a further build in US
inventories
“Crude is essentially being held hostage by the on-again, off-again US-
China efforts to forge a partial deal,” said Vandana Hari, of consultant
Vanda Insights. “The oil market has drawn a straight line between a trade
deal and oil demand growth.”
– Key figures around 0230 GMT –
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.7 percent at 23,119.59 (break)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng: DOWN 0.8 percent at 26,891.66
Shanghai – Composite: DONW 0.2 percent at 2,929.03
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1079 from $1.1077 at 2140 GMT
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2912 from $1.2922
Euro/pound: UP at 85.79 pence from 85.71 pence
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 108.45 yen from 108.54 yen
West Texas Intermediate: UP eight cents at $55.29 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: UP two cents at $60.93 per barrel
New York – Dow: DOWN 0.4 percent at 27,934.02 (close)
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 7,323.80 (close)
(BSS)
