- Title: MARKETS-ASIA/CLOSE Asia stocks falter after China pushes yuan lower again
- Date: 12th August 2015
- Summary: HONG KONG, CHINA (AUGUST 12, 2015) (REUTERS) HONG KONG STOCK EXCHANGE SQUARE CHINA, HONG KONG AND STOCK EXCHANGE FLAGS HONG KONG STOCK EXCHANGE AT CLOSING BELL SCREEN SHOWING HANG SENG DOWN 2.36 PERCENT HONG KONG STOCK EXCHANGE TRADER PRINTING OUT RESULTS TICKER SHOWING BANK OF CHINA CLOSING PRICE VARIOUS OF NATIXIS CHIEF ECONOMIST, ASIA PACIFIC, ALICIA GARCIA HERRERO (SOUNDBITE) (English) NATIXIS CHIEF ECONOMIST, ASIA PACIFIC, ALICIA GARCIA HERRERO SAYING: "And I hope they (People's Bank of China) do that, I hope they don't confuse the market and keep all of us waiting for months to know where we are. Because that will be very costly in terms of capital outflows." HONG KONG STREET IN FINANCIAL DISTRICT TOKYO, JAPAN (AUGUST 12, 2015) (REUTERS) TOKYO STOCK EXCHANGE (TSE) BUILDING SIGN READING (English): "JPX, TOKYO STOCK EXCHANGE" PEOPLE INSIDE TSE ELECTRONIC STOCK BOARD ALARMING AT CLOSING OF MARKET ELECTRONIC STOCK BOARD SHOWING NIKKEI AVERAGE CLOSING AT 20392.77 FELL 1.6 PERCENT PRESS SHOOTING TSE CENTER TSE STAFF WORKING ROTATING STOCK PRICE TICKER SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (AUGUST 12, 2015) (REUTERS) CARS AND BUSES PASSING ON SEOUL STREET PEOPLE WALKING ACROSS STREET INTERIOR OF DEALING ROOM AT KOREA EXCHANGE BANK ELECTRONIC BOARD SHOWING KOREA COMPOSITE STOCK PRICE INDEX (KOSPI) DEALERS WORKING DEALER TALKING ON THE PHONE MORE OF DEALERS WORKING MORE OF INTERIOR OF DEALING ROOM
- Embargoed: 27th August 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA8ON70O8RW9IYZVPIRTE3U1KOS
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Asian stocks faltered on Wednesday (August 12) after China let the yuan fall sharply for a second straight day, forcing investors to seek refuge in safe-haven government debt.
On Wednesday, the People's Bank of China set the yuan's midpoint rate weaker than Tuesday (August 11)'s closing market rate, which had already fallen sharply after China devalued its currency by nearly 2 percent in a surprise move.
In Hong Kong the Hang Seng index fell 2.4 percent, to 23,916.02, while the China Enterprises Index lost 2.0 percent, to 11,042.79 points.
Chief Economist for Asia Pacific with Natixis Alicia Garcia Herrero said she believed there would be further cuts in the currency's value to help export growth but also said she hoped the central bank would indicate soon how far they intended to go to alleviate market nerves.
"And I hope they (People's Bank of China) do that, I hope they don't confuse the market and keep all of us waiting for months to know where we are. Because that will be very costly in terms of capital outflows," Herrero said.
Japan's Nikkei share average fell 1.6 percent to 20,392.77, hitting its lowest level in two weeks and logging its biggest fall in more than a month.
In Seoul, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) ended down 0.6 percent at 1,975.47 points. At one point, the index fell as much as 1.9 percent to 1,948.91, the lowest since Feb. 13. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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