Most Asian stock benchmarks slipped on Tuesday as Britain’s vote to quit the European Union and its messy aftermath continued to reverberate throughout global financial markets.
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Uncertainty and anxiety over the economic fallout from Britain’s vote to leave the European Union has roiled global financial markets since Friday and prompted ratings agencies to slash their top-shelf credit rating for the United Kingdom.
A screen shows the Hang Seng Index with the reflection of a broker watching the stock prices at a brokerage firm in Hong Kong, Tuesday, June 28, 2016. Charles Schwab was the biggest decliner in the S&P 500, tumbling $1.95, or 7.5 percent, to $24.19.
HONG KONG Hong Kong’s finance chief said on Sunday the government will closely watch the impact of Britain’s vote to leave the European Union on the city, which is set to affect the global economy and the territory’s trade and financial markets.
Stocks related to the United Kingdom are plunging in Hong Kong on Monday as investors are wary of the negative impact on earnings from last Friday’s British vote to leave the European Union.
Fragile market sentiment wasn’t helped by Standard & Poor’s two-notch downgrade of Britain on Monday. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.1 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi added 0.5 percent.
Benchmark indexes in London, Paris and Frankfurt all rose more than 2% in morning trading, while US stocks rose about 1%.
The Hang Seng Index traded at 19,997.22 as of 10:07 a.m., while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland companies in Hong Kong lost 1.4 percent.
Benchmarks in Taiwan, Singapore and Indonesia rose but in Malaysia and the Philippines they fell.
The euro and the British pound were moving higher, though the pound remained near its lowest levels since 1985. That’s still above the low of around $1.32, its weakest level in decades, that it hit on Friday as results from the United Kingdom referendum were coming in. “This is nothing about individual companies per se, this is about the effect of forex on their earnings”.
The yen eased slightly against the dollar, though it was still hovering near its strongest level in two years. The contract slid $1.31 on Monday. The dollar rose to 102.71 yen from 101.97 yen.
Benchmark U.S. crude rebounded 73 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $47.06 a barrel in NY.
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In another sign of a little more optimism, crude oil rose 1.6% to above $47 a barrel.
