By Mia Lamar
Asian shares were lower Friday, with Japan's benchmark Nikkei
briefly falling below the 14,000 mark for the first time in nearly
a month, as growing political uncertainty in the U.S. soured
investor sentiment.
A partial government shutdown in the U.S. dragged on for the
third day Thursday as lawmakers remained at an impasse over funding
for the country's budget. The standoff comes just weeks before a
crucial deadline to raise the nation's borrowing limit, a measure
which also must be approved by lawmakers.
"Creeping worries about the U.S. debt ceiling are starting to
unnerve investors," said Mike Jones, a currency strategist at the
Bank of New Zealand in Wellington.
Japan's Nikkei was the worst performer Friday, trading down 1%
after earlier glancing below key 14,000 level for the first time
since Sept. 6. The U.S. dollar wavered between gains and losses,
last changing hands at Yen97.21 compared with Yen97.12 late
Thursday in New York.
Shares of electronics manufacturers Panasonic Corp. and Sharp
Corp. each traded roughly 3% lower as the yen fluctuated between
strength and weakness. A stronger yen increases price competition
with overseas rivals.
Asian markets have been mostly resilient in the wake of the
shutdown. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 , down 0.5% Friday, has
closed higher in each session since the U.S. government shuttered
on Tuesday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index , down 0.6% Friday, had
gained nearly 2% since reopening from the National Day holiday
Tuesday.
A 2.3% decline in China Mobile Ltd. shares, which carry the
second-largest weighting on the Hang Seng Index, accounted for
nearly a third of the index's loss. Reports in mainland media
Thursday suggested China's telecom regulator may lower the
interconnection fees that operators pay to China Mobile, the
country's largest wireless carrier.
Elsewhere in Asia, Singapore's Straits Times Index dipped 0.3%
and South Korea's Kospi fell 0.5%.
U.S. stocks fell across the board Thursday, sending the Dow
Jones Industrial Average (DJI) below 15,000 for the first time in a
month. The Dow closed down 0.9% at 14,996 and the S&P 500 index
(SPX) fell 0.9% to 1679.
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