The Dow Jones industrial average fell 111.97 points, or 0.61 per cent, to 18,292.54, the S&P 500 lost 16.99 points, or 0.78 per cent, to 2,153.85 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 53.84 points, or 1.04 per cent, to 5,130.36.
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The broader Topix shed 1.7 percent, while the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 was down 2.1 percent.
The reshuffle has been pitched at underscoring the prime minister’s intentions to shore up the nation’s stagnant economy via the actualization of the latest installment of his “Abenomics” blend of economic policies and comes on the heels of the approval of a 28.1 trillion yen (277.74 billion US dollar) stimulus package a day earlier. Hong Kong’s stock market was closed due to a typhoon.
Asian stock markets fell Wednesday as US oil entered a bear market, and a stronger yen dragged Japanese equities lower.
The 10-year United Kingdom gilt yield was unchanged at 0.80 percent GB10YT=RR and the comparable Bund yielded -0.4 percent EU10YT=RR, both up around 10 basis points so far this week.
Oil edged up slightly, but investors remain on edge after the commodity sank into a bear market – a 20 percent fall from recent highs – on renewed worries about a supply glut as the crucial USA summer driving season nears its end.
ANALYST VIEWPOINT: “Of course, with rates already at a record low and household data high, monetary policy isn’t as powerful as before”, Paul Dales of Capital Economics said in an analysis of the Australian rate cut. The Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.2 percent amid speculation the nation’s futures exchange is planning to relax trading restrictions on stock-index contracts that sparked a plunge in volumes last summer.
The yen hit its strongest in three weeks at 101.77 per dollar after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet approved on Tuesday 13.5 trillion yen ($132 billion) in fiscal steps as part of efforts to revive Japan’s economy.
Abe said earlier that the package was “an investment for the future”.
The government estimates the stimulus would push up real gross domestic product by around 1.3 percent in the near term.
Crude oil prices trended lower as worries about the global growth outlook weighed on investor’s confidence again.
Brent crude was off one per cent at $41.72 a barrel, while USA crude fell 1.5 per cent to $39.48.
Oil rebounded strongly after having fallen as much as 10 per cent in one week, but concerns about oversupply lingered. Brent crude, which is used to price worldwide oils, rose 17 cents to $42.31 a barrel in London, after closing at $42.14 a barrel the day before.
The dollar touched a near six-week trough against a basket of currencies, while the euro reached its highest since mid-July around $1.1230.
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Asian shares fell on Wednesday while the yen lorded over a weakened U.S. dollar as the fear that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) may retreat from its huge bond-buying campaign added to a shakeout in debt markets globally.
