Asian markets slide amid investor concerns
Asian stock markets on Monday (August 5) dropped amid investor concerns over the aggravating US-China trade tensions.
The People's Bank of China, the country’s central bank, released a statement on its website on Monday that the drop in the value of the renminbi against the US dollar was "influenced by the unilateralism and the protectionist measures", as well as the expectation of more US tariffs on Chinese goods.
Investors also believe that the US Federal Reserve will cut its key interest rate again at the next meeting, closely following the 25 basis points cut last month, a brokerage said.
In keeping with overall market sentiment, the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index on Monday closed at 1,665.99, dropping 18.72 points from Friday with trade valued at Bt48.47 billion.
Foreign investors net bought Bt2.65 billion.
The Hong Kong Hang Seng closed at 26,151.32, dropping 767.26 or 2.85 per cent, as investors reacted to the US-China trade war and ongoing protests in Hong Kong.
Japan’s Nikkei closed at 20,720.29, dropping 366.87 or 1.74 per cent from Friday’s close.
The Singapore FTSE Straits Times Index closed at 3,194.51, down 66.60 points or 2.04 per cent from Friday.
The China Shanghai Index closed at 2,955.66, dropping 48.36 points or 1.61 per cent from Friday.
The Bursa Malaysia index closed at 1,610.41, dropping 16.35 points or 2.04 per cent from Friday.
