Asian stocks tumble after Wall Street sell-down
Markets across Asia saw red yesterday as traders took their cue from the sharp sell-down on Wall Street and bolted for the exits.
The bloodletting was sparked by fears that US President Donald Trump would fall short in his much-touted economic reforms.
The 1.14 per cent plunge in the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Tuesday set the tone for Asia, where Tokyo led the losses, diving 2.13 per cent - its biggest one-day decline since Mr Trump's election victory last November.
Hong Kong sank 1.11 per cent and Shanghai eased 0.5 per cent.
Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index was not spared, sliding 1.28 per cent and extending losses for the third straight day.
Ms Margaret Yang, a market analyst at CMC Markets Singapore, believes profit-taking activity in Asia is likely to accelerate as most markets have rallied over the past three months, "resulting in huge, unrealised gains".
The widespread pullback comes amid worries that Mr Trump's plans to fire up the world's largest economy would fall flat.
After hitting multiple records this month, all three major indices on Wall Street overnight suffered their worst losses since the presidential election.
The Dow's 1.14 per cent fall was its steepest one-day decline since last September, while the US dollar continued to struggle against other major currencies.
"For many, this signalled the market's impatience with the Trump administration's slow progress delivering on its pro-growth policies," said DBS Group Research in a note.
The key concern is with the upcoming vote in Congress on the replacement for Obamacare, with many Republicans opposed to the new legislation in its current form.
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