Global Markets Down Ahead of Bernanke Speech

Published November 17, 2014

TOKYO -- Asian markets were mostly lower Friday as investors awaited a speech later in the day by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke amid growing worries over the pace of the U.S. economic recovery.

Sentiment was also tempered by expectations the United States will revise down economic growth for the April-June quarter from an annual pace of 2.4 percent announced earlier.

Global markets have been rattled the past month by indicators from the U.S. to China suggesting that the global economic recovery is rapidly losing momentum. Bernanke's comments on the U.S. economy, the world's largest, may give investors some insight into how deep the slowdown will be.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average declined 77.38 points, or 0.9 percent, to 8,829.10 with investors shrugging off good news about Japan's labor market. The government said Friday the nation's jobless rate in July fell to 5.2 percent from 5.3 percent in June -- the first decline in six months.

South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.4 percent to 1,723.37 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.2 percent at 4,349.50. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.1 percent to 20,592.20 and the Shanghai Composite was off 0.3 percent at 2,595.25.

Elsewhere, Taiwan's benchmark added 0.1 percent to 7,700.89. Markets in Singapore, Malaysia and New Zealand also rose.

In New York on Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 74.25 points, or 0.7 percent, to 9,985.81. The Dow had traded below 10,000 several times this week, but hadn't closed below that level since July 6.

Amid a raft of indicators pointing to a slowing economic recovery, investors hope that Bernanke's speech on Friday will shed light on how weak the U.S. economy is and whether the Fed may take more steps to revive the world's No. 1 economy.

The U.S. is to release revised GDP data for the April-June quarter Friday.

In currencies, the dollar rose to 84.50 yen from 84.28 yen in New York late Thursday. The euro gained to $1.2714 from $1.2702.

Benchmark crude for October delivery was down 31 cents at $73.03 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract added 84 cents to settle at $73.36 a barrel on Thursday.

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