The pan-European Stoxx 600 fell 0.2% after the bell, with bank stocks leading the losses on a 0.9% slide while autos dropped 0.7%. Telecoms stocks were the strongest early performers, climbing 0.5%.
· Asian shares were led lower on Thursday as the Hong Kong market fell for second consecutive session following a day of massive street protests, while oil prices flirted with five-month lows due to higher U.S. crude inventories and a bleak demand outlook.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell as much as 1%, as Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 1.5% following Wednesday’s 1.7% fall.
Hopes that the United States and China will clinch a deal on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit meeting in Osaka on June 28-29 have been fading, also hurting sentiment and driving bond yields down.
“There’s not even a plan of ministerial-level bilateral meetings ahead of the G20 summit. You can’t expect any major agreement,” said Hirokazu Kabeya, chief global strategist at Daiwa Securities.
· Japan’s Nikkei fell on Thursday, with chip-related shares battered after their U.S. counterparts tumbled while the U.S.-China trade dispute and geopolitical risks dampened sentiment.
The Nikkei share average dropped 0.5% to 21,032.00.
Trading volume was thin as investors awaited more cues for trade at the G20 summit this month, while they remained on the sidelines before the June settlement of Japanese stock futures and options on Friday.
Investors were keeping a close eye on violent protests in Hong Kong over an extradition bill that would allow people to be sent to mainland China for trial.
· Shanghai stocks recovered from early losses to end steady on Thursday on hopes Beijing will roll out further measures to bolster the economy amid a bruising trade war with Washington.
The blue-chip CSI300 index ended a tick down at 3,685.39, while the Shanghai Composite Index closed flat at 2,910.74 points.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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