Asian stocks slide with Hong Kong

Asian stocks slide with Hong Kong

WELLINGTON/HONG KONG — Asian stocks fell early on Tuesday, with the regional index headed for its biggest monthly drop since May last year, amid concern over tensions in Hong Kong and as a Chinese manufacturing gauge missed estimates. The dollar held its largest quarterly advance since the global financial crisis.

Pro-democracy protester hands out yellow ribbons symbolising democracy as a sign board shows Hong Kong's stock market Hang Seng Index falling by 449.2 points, in Mong Kok, on the second day of the mass civil disobedience campaign Occupy Hong Kong, Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong, on Sept 29, 2014. (EPA photo)

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped 0.9% by 10.57am in Tokyo, pushing it down 5.5% in September. The Hang Seng Index dropped 1.1% as pro-democracy protests continued to choke off roads around the city. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures fell 0.1% after the US gauge lost 0.3%. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed and New Zealand’s dollar was set for its worst quarter since 2008. Oil in New York slipped 0.2%.

Global stocks dropped for the first quarter in more than a year and sovereign bonds are beating corporate debt by the most since 2011 as speculation about Federal Reserve interest-rate increases and geopolitical tensions spur risk aversion. Leaders of Hong Kong’s protests set an Oct 1 deadline for their demands to be met. With mainland markets poised to close for a weeklong national holiday, a China purchasing managers index from HSBC Holdings Pls and Markit Economics showed a slower-than-estimated expansion this month.

“Markets are reasonably jittery at the moment because, despite having pulled back a little, they’re still quite elevated,” Mark Lister, head of private wealth research at Craigs Investment Partners Ltd, which manages about $7.2 billion, said by phone from Wellington. “In 30 days you’ve got QE done and dusted and so we’re at a bit of a turning point for the market and people are a little nervy. Things that come out of left field like the Hong Kong protests or conflict in Ukraine put people on the back foot.”

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