Nikkei 225 slid 1.2% to 39,599.00, the Shanghai Composite index declined 0.6% to 2,964.22, S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.6% to 7,926.30, and Kospi shed 1% to 2,767.62
Asian stocks were mostly lower Monday after U.S. President Joe Biden exited the 2024 race. The downbeat start to the week followed losses Friday on Wall Street as businesses around the world scrambled to contain disruptions from a massive technology outage.
U.S. futures were little changed and oil prices gained.
Biden announced his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race on Sunday and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to take on former President Donald Trump, adding to uncertainties over the future of the world’s biggest economy.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slid 1.2% to 39,599.00.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 1.3% to 17,640.51 and the Shanghai Composite index declined 0.6% to 2,964.22 after China’s central bank unexpectedly reduced its one-year benchmark loan prime rate which is the standard reference for most business loans, to 3.35% from 3.45%.
The PBC lowered the five-year loan prime rate, a benchmark for mortgages, to 3.85% from 3.95%, aiming to boost slowing growth and break out of an extended property slump.
This came after the government recently reported the economy grew at a slower-than-forecast 4.7% annual pace in the second quarter.
Chinese commercial banks’ net interest margins are already at record lows and non-performing loans have been growing rapidly; rate reductions will likely add to the pressure on Chinese banks., Lynn Song of ING Economics said in a commentary.
Elsewhere in Asia, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.6% to 7,926.30. South Korea’s Kospi shed 1% to 2,767.62.
On Friday, the S&P 500 dropped 0.7% and closed at 5,505.00, ending its first losing week in the last three and its worst since April. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.9% to 40,287.53, while the Nasdaq composite dipped 0.8% to 17,726.94.
