Bloomberg reports,"the MSCI Asia Pacific Index sank 1.6 percent by 12:06 a.m. in Tokyo, set for its lowest close since Feb. 10. A gauge of Chinese firms in Hong Kong fell as much as 20 percent from a Dec. 2 high. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average slid 2.7 percent as the yen headed for its biggest weekly advance since Jan. 24. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures rose 0.1 percent. The cost of insuring Asia-Pacific bonds from default jumped 4 basis points. Gold advanced to a six-month high while copper headed for its biggest weekly slump since April".
About $1.2 trillion was wiped from global stocks this week through yesterday as Chinese economic data missed estimates, overshadowing signs of improvement in the U.S. economy. The Black Sea region of Crimea votes March 16 on becoming independent or rejoiningRussia, with the U.S. and Germany threatening Moscow with sanctions over its support for the secession. The U.K. reports trade data and India releases a key inflation indicator.
Bank of America Corp., UBS AG, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Nomura Holdings Inc. lowered their forecasts for Chinese economic growth in 2014. Data yesterday showed factory output rose in January and February from a year earlier by the least since the global financial crisis, while retail sales grew at the slowest rate for the period since 2004. Reports at the weekend showed an unexpected plunge in overseas shipments.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell as much as 1 percent to 9,230.38, more than 20 percent below its high from December last year, before paring the decline to 0.8 percent. The Hang Seng Index (HSI) dropped 1.2 percent and is on track to cap its biggest weekly drop since May 2012. The Shanghai Composite Index retreated 0.7 percent.
