Asian stocks slide, safety shines as bank fears spread

Asian stocks slide, safety shines as bank fears spread

Japan's Nikkei fell 2% in early trade. Australian shares slumped 2% as well, led by losses for banking stocks, while miners dropped heavily too as the spectre of worldwide banking stress has traders getting out of all kinds of growth-sensitive assets.











Reuters









March 16, 2023 / 06:05 AM IST





Asian Markets



Asian stocks tumbled on Thursday, and investors bought gold, bonds and the dollar as fear of a banking crisis was reignited by fresh troubles at Credit Suisse, leaving markets on edge ahead of a European Central Bank meeting later in the day.

Japan's Nikkei fell 2% in early trade. Australian shares slumped 2% as well, led by losses for banking stocks, while miners dropped heavily too as the spectre of worldwide banking stress has traders getting out of all kinds of growth-sensitive assets.

Hang Seng futures were down 2%. Oil has slumped to 15-month lows. Gold touched a six-week high overnight. [O/R][GOL/]

In New York the S&P 500 fell 0.7% but the focus was on banks and in Europe where Credit Suisse shares crashed 30% to a record low after its biggest shareholder, Saudi National Bank, said it could not