Asian Stocks Slide With Global Equities, Yen Surges

Asian stocks slid with global equities on Wednesday, following the Bank of England warning on weak economic growth.

This increase the demand for haven assets, boosting the yen and weighing on Japanese shares. The Japanese Topix Index plunged 1.9 percent as the yen surged about 1 percent to 100.68 a dollar.

The Asia MSCI Index fell 0.9 percent to 128.80 as of 9:05 a.m. in Tokyo.

The governor of the Bank of England had earlier warned that risks of Brexit had started to crystallize as the apex bank made moves to increase borrowing by lowering capital requirements for commercial banks.

“Equities still exhibit a lot of risks,” Mark Lister, head of private wealth research at Craigs Investment Partners in Wellington, which manages about $7.2 billion, said by phone. “The lack of confidence and growth will weigh on sentiment. For anyone that’s reaped the benefits of the equity bull market it’s definitely time to consider taking some profits, if you haven’t already, and move to a more defensive stance.”

South Korea’s Kospi index fell by 0.5 percent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 0.4 percent. New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 Index lost 0.2 percent.

Markets in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, India, Singapore, and the Philippines are closed on Wednesday for the holidays.

The U.S. crude fell below $47 a barrel after the world’s top oil trader forecast stagnate prices.