North Korea fires ballistic missile over Japan, sharply escalating tensions

North Korea fired a missile that flew over Japan and landed in waters off the northern region of Hokkaido early on Tuesday, South Korean and Japanese officials said, marking a sharp escalation of tensions on the Korean peninsula.

The test, which experts said appeared to have been a recently developed intermediate-range Hwasong-12 missile, came as U.S. and South Korean forces conduct annual military drills on the peninsula, against which North Korea strenuously objects.

Earlier this month, North Korea threatened to fire missiles into the sea near the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam after U.S. President Donald Trump warned Pyongyang would face “fire and fury” if it threatened the United States.

North Korea has conducted dozens of ballistic missile tests under young leader Kim Jong-Un, the most recent on Saturday, but firing projectiles over mainland Japan is rare.

“North Korea’s reckless action is an unprecedented, serious and a grave threat to our nation,” Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters.
READ MORE

Global stocks tumble, yen gains after North Korea fires missile over Japan

US stock futures and Asian share markets tumbled on Tuesday, while the yen jumped to four-month highs against the dollar after North Korea fired a missile over northern Japan, setting up a tense start to trading for markets in the region.

S&P mini futures fell as much as 0.85 percent on the news before paring losses to trade 0.5 percent below its close on Monday, when it was little changed.

Japan's Nikkei fell 0.7 percent to four-month low while South Korea's Kospi shed 0.5 percent, helping to drag down MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan 0.3 percent.

North Korea fired a missile early on Tuesday that flew over Japan and landed in the Pacific waters off the northern region of Hokkaido, South Korea and Japan said, in a sharp escalation of tensions on the Korean peninsula.

North Korea has conducted dozens of ballistic missile tests under young leader Kim Jong-Un, the most recent on Saturday, but firing projectiles over mainland Japan is rare.

"North Korea's reckless action is an unprecedented, serious and a grave threat to our nation," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters.

READ MORE

Asian markets trade lower ahead of ECB meet and UK election

Asian shares wobbled in early Thursday trade as investors braced for any surprises from former FBI director James Comey's congressional appearance, the European Central Bank's policy meeting and the UK general elections.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.27 percent while Japan's Nikkei rose 0.3 percent thanks to the dollar's rebound against the yen.

Wall Street shares ticked up on Wednesday, despite sharp decline in energy prices, after written testimony from Comey did not add major revelations about an investigation into Russian meddling with last year's US presidential election.

The 10-year US Treasuries yield ticked up to 2.185 percent after having fallen to a seven-month low of 2.129 percent on Tuesday.

Many investors are wary ahead of Comey's Senate appearance later in the day for any hints that President Donald Trump may have been engaged in obstruction of justice - an offence that could lead to impeachment hearings.

"If the hearing does not produce clear-cut evidences of obstruction of justice, uncertainties will remain but for market the issue will likely be put on a back burner," said Hiroko Iwaki, senior fixed income strategist at Mizuho Securities.

"Unless you assume there will be a complete chaos in US politics or a downturn in the U.S. economy, it is hard to see further falls in US bond yields," she said.

In the foreign exchange market, the dollar stayed near its seven-month low against a basket of currencies as doubts over Trump's ability to push through his stimulus plans have eroded the greenback's gains late last year.

The dollar index stood at 96.695, near Wednesday's seven-month low of 96.511.

The euro traded at $1.1258, near its seven-month high of $1.1285 touched earlier this month, ahead of the European Central Bank's policy meeting later in the day.

READ MORE

Asian markets trade mixed after a negative lead from Wall Street

Asian stocks were mostly lower on Thursday following a subdued lead from Wall Street, while the dollar pulled up from near two-week lows and sterling languished under the weight of political fears one week before Britain's election.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dipped 0.2 percent and looked set for its fifth straight session of losses as investors took profits after stocks hit a two-year high last week and as economic and geopolitical concerns continued to weigh on sentiment.

Japan's Nikkei advanced 0.8 percent after data showing recurring first-quarter corporate profits were the highest on record for the January to March period.

An increase in capital expenditure in the first quarter also adds to a raft of recent data pointing to economic expansion.

Manufacturing growth in Japan also rose to a three-month high, according to a business survey.

Australian stocks retreated 0.2 percent.

South Korea's KOSPI fell 0.3 percent and the Korean won weakened 0.2 percent to trade at 1,121 won to the dollar after data showed factory activity in May shrank for the 10th straight month.

Overnight, Wall Street closed slightly lower as financials lost ground after JPMorgan and Bank of America warned of revenue weakness in the current quarter, but gains in defensive plays offset the decline.

All three major US indexes ended May in positive territory.

The dollar gained after touching a near two-week low against the yen overnight.

It was up 0.2 percent from its previous close at 110.95 early on Thursday, its first positive session in five, but concerns about US politics capped gains.
READ MORE

Sensex fall over 100 points, Nifty below 8,750; Tata Steel falls 2%

Latest News - Benchmark indices opened on higher note with Nifty reclaiming its 8,800 mark but later pared gaind to trade in red as Asian markets stayed cautious following growing political risks in Europe and mixed overnight trade on Wall Street.

Street also watched out for some major companies to declare their Q3 earnings during the day. A total of 268 firms are supposed to report their third quarter results during the day including SAIL, BPCL, Power Grid, Lupin, Cairn India and Aurobindo Pharma.

Also, RBI, yesterday held repo rates at 6.25% for the second time in a row, changing its stance to "neutral" from "accommodative".

At 11:33 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 28,169, down 120 points, while the broader Nifty50 was ruling at (Read More)

Sensex hovers on a flat line ahead of RBI policy; broader markets outpace

Latest News - The benchmark indices on Wednesday were trading flat ahead of Reserve Bank of India (RBI)'s monetary policy meeting due later in the day. Globally, Asian markets dipping below their four-month highs also sapped investor confidence.
At 10:10 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 28,329, down 6 points, while the broader Nifty50 was ruling at 8,770, up 2 points.
In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices outperformed the frontline indices to quote 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively.
"Nifty has to sustain above 8,740 zones to witness buying interest towards 8,820 and then 8,880 zones, while on the (Read More)