Asian equity markets extended a global slide on Friday as tensions ramped up between the United States and North Korea, sending investors fleeing to less risky assets such the yen, the Swiss franc and US Treasuries.
Overnight, Wall Street closed sharply lower after US President Donald Trump issued a new round of fiery rhetoric, warning Pyongyang against attacking Guam or US allies after it disclosed plans to fire missiles over Japan to land near the US Pacific territory.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan skidded 1.2 per cent in its third session of declines, heading for a 2.1 per cent drop for the week. Australian shares were down 1.2 per cent, set for a weekly loss of 0.5 per cent. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday.
“What has changed this time is that the scary threats and war of words between the US and North Korea have intensified to the point that markets can't ignore it,” said Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy at AMP Capital in Sydney. “Of course it's all come at a time when share markets are due for a correction so North Korea has provided a perfect trigger.”
Many markets have climbed to record or multi-year highs, leaving them vulnerable to a sell-off.
Trump took specific aim at North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Thursday, saying, he had “disrespected our country greatly,” and would not be “getting away with it.”
South Korea's KOSPI fell 1.3 per cent, taking its losses this week to nearly 2.7 per cent. The Korean won also continued to skid, sliding 0.4 per cent to 1,146.2, below its 200-day moving average. Chinese bluechips lost 0.75 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng was 1.6 per cent lower.
If North Korea launches an attack that threatens the United States then China should stay neutral, but if the United States attacks first and tries to overthrow North Korea's government China will stop them, a Chinese state-run newspaper said on Friday.
Trump's threat earlier this week, to unleash “fire and fury” on Pyongyang if it attacked, was ultimately dismissed as bluster by many investors.
Trump's second warning, however, has shaken markets that have been largely resilient this year, swatting away a slew of risks. These ranged from an investigation into Russia's possible interference in the 2016 US presidential election, to concerns about China's risky debt levels, to stubbornly low inflation in the US.
The CBOE Volatility Index, the most widely followed barometer of expected near-term US stock market volatility, rose the most in about 12 weeks. The index closed at 16.04 overnight, the highest level since Nov 8, when Trump was elected president.
On Wall Street overnight, the Nasdaq retreated 2.1 per cent, while the S&P 500 was down 1.4 per cent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average pulled back 0.9 per cent. US stock futures were marginally softer on Friday.
The MSCI World index slipped 0.1 per cent, extending Thursday's 1.1 per cent drop, its biggest one-day slide since May 17, as US President Donald Trump stepped up his rhetoric against North Korea.
The dollar extended losses against the yen to hit a new two-month low. It was down 0.15 per cent at 109.065 yen, after retreating 0.7 per cent on Thursday. The yen is perceived as a safe haven because Japan is the world's biggest creditor country and investors there have tended to repatriate funds in times of crisis.
“Given the speculative flows positioning for possible yen repatriation, we could see the psychologically significant 109.00 level give way,” Stephen Innes, head of Asia Pacific trading at OANDA, wrote in a note.
Low US Treasury yields are also weighing on the dollar. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury yields fell as low as 2.197 per cent overnight, their lowest level since June 28. They were at 2.201 per cent on Friday.
The dollar pulled back 0.1 per cent to $0.9635 Swiss francs on Friday, after dropping as much as 1.2 per cent to a two-week low overnight. The dollar was steady against a basket of six major currencies at 93.412 after falling 0.2 per cent on Thursday, with disappointing US inflation and jobs data adding to the greenback's woes.
US producer prices unexpectedly fell in July, recording their biggest drop in nearly a year, while another set showed the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week. Markets are now focused on US consumer price data for July, due later in the session.
Spot gold prices were slightly lower at 1,285.22 an ounce, touching a two-month high earlier. They soared over 2 per cent in the previous two sessions, and are set for a weekly gain of 2.2 per cent.
US crude futures extended losses from Thursday, when they plunged 2 per cent on fears of slowing demand and lingering concerns over a global oversupply. They were down 0.1 per cent at $48.51 per barrel, on track for a weekly loss of 2.1 per cent. Global benchmark Brent lost 0.3 per cent to $51.76, after Thursday's 1.5 per cent drop. It is poised to end the week down 1.3 per cent.