Oct 28(Reuters) – Asian stocks fell across the board on Thursday as investors were unsettled by risks of renewed U.S.-China tension, potentially adding to existing global supply chain issues, while the Indonesian rupiah hit a two-week low.
Stocks of trade-reliant Asian countries like the Philippines .PSI , South Korea .KS11 and Indonesia .JSKE shed between 0.3% and 1%. Shanghai equities .SSEC dropped the most, down 1.2%, with the yuan CNY=CFXS easing 0.1%.
Investor focus was squarely on developments in China, which is grappling with an economic slowdown due to an energy crunch and a crisis in its property sector, as well as fresh COVID-19 outbreaks.
News of the U.S. telecoms regulator revoking China Telecom’s 0728.HK authorisation to operate late on Wednesday compounded worries for market participants only too aware that tensions between the world’s two biggest economies previously threw global trade into a disarray.
“Focus in the region may revolve around ongoing COVID-19 risks in China, with infections in Beijing at an eight-month high,” said Yeap Jun Rong, a market strategist at retail trading platform IG.
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