(Bloomberg) — Asian stocks retreated, with South Korean shares underperforming, and the dollar climbed after news that the U.S. is monitoring information surrounding the health of North Korea’s dictator.
Equities declined across Asia-Pacific markets, with benchmarks in Seoul, Sydney and Shanghai down over 1% and Hong Kong more than 2%; Japan’s Topix saw more modest losses. U.S. futures surrendered gains and were down more than 1% at one point. While the yen traded flat, the dollar climbed against most major currencies. Treasuries were little changed.
The U.S. has information that North Korea’s Kim Jong Un was in critical condition after undergoing cardiovascular surgery last week, Bloomberg reported. CNN said America has intelligence that he’s in grave danger. Yonhap reported that South Korea denied the media reports. Nuclear-armed North Korea has been ruled by one family since it was constituted after WWII.
“The uncertainty about who succeeds him in North Korea is the great unknown,” said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at Oanda Asia Pacific, conjecturing about a potential worst-case scenario for Kim. “That’s what is making markets nervous,” he said.
On the energy front, oil futures rose on Tuesday, with West Texas Intermediate June contracts above $21 a barrel; the May contract popped back into positive territory after Monday’s shock wipe-out. Elsewhere, the kiwi tumbled after Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Adrian Orr said he was open-minded on the idea of directly monetizing sovereign debt.
Meantime, President Donald Trump said he’ll sign an executive order temporarily suspending immigration into the United States as the country tries to contain the spread of the coronavirus. The news came even amid more signs that the outbreak is slowing in hard-hit areas.
Earnings season is another focus, with almost one-fifth of S&P 500 companies reporting this week.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
S&P 500 futures fell 0.7% as of 12:48 p.m. in Tokyo. The S&P 500 Index fell 1.8%.Japan’s Topix index fell 1.5%.Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 1.9%.South Korea’s Kospi index fell 2%.Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 2.3%.Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.4%.MSCI Asia Pacific index declined 2%.Euro Stoxx 50 futures tumbled 2%.
Currencies
The Japanese yen was at 107.53 per dollar, little changed.South Korea’s won slid 1.1% to 1233.55 per dollar.The offshore yuan fell 0.1% to 7.0977 per dollar.The euro fell 0.2% to $1.0838.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries was at 0.60%.Australia’s 10-year bond yield was flat at 0.85%.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude May contract was at $1.36 a barrel after dropping into negative territory. The June contract was at $21.34.Gold dipped 0.3% to $1,690 an ounce.
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