- Asian markets fell on Wednesday due to fresh tensions surrounding Brexit
- Japan’s Nikkei 225 and ASX recorded losses
- This comes despite strong crude oil prices
Asian markets on Wednesday closed on a lower note due to refreshed concerns surrounding Brexit after U.K. lawmakers rejected yet again the terms of a deal for Britain to withdraw from the European Union, reports CNBC, March 13, 2019.
After yesterday’s promising performance, Wednesday proved to be a mid-week downer for Asian markets as major exchanges in China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Australia plunged.
Markets in China, Hong Kong
The Shanghai Composite finished the day at 3,026.95 points, falling 1.09 percent from its Tuesday closing figure, while the Shenzhen Composite recorded loss to the tune of 2.31 percent.
Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng index also felt the effect of low investor sentiment as it tumbled 0.52 percent.
What’s surprising that this pessimistic market behavior comes one day after oil prices witnessed a small surge in price after an official from Saudi Arabia stated that the kingdom is mulling to reduce its crude oil exports in April 2019 to below 7 million barrels per day.
The increase in global oil prices continued during the Asian markets trading hours. U.S. crude oil jumped to $57.27 a barrel, up by 0.7 percent from its previous close.
Markets in Japan, South Korea
Similar trading sentiment was observed in Japan and South Korea markets.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 plunged to 21,290.24 points, recording a loss of 1 percent from its Tuesday closing figures. Mirroring Nikkei’s behavior was Japan’s Topix, which fell 0.84 percent to 1,592.07 points.
Neighbor South Korea’s Kospi index erased some of its earlier gains as it fell to 2,148.41 points – posting a decline of 0.41 percent.
Markets in Australia
Australia’s ASX 200 simmered to 6,161.20 points as it dropped by 0.22 percent on Wednesday. However, before market closure, some of the exchange’s sector indices turned green. One of the biggest losing sectors was the energy sector which declined 0.88 percent. Oil stocks showed a weak performance too.
Per a report by Westpac Bank and the Melbourne Institute, Consumer sentiment took a turn for the worse in March 2019 due to sluggish economic growth in the Australian economy in second half of 2018. Notably, the current consumer sentiment down under is at its lowest since September 2017.
