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Asian markets down as yuan falls further | |
(about 2 hours later) | |
Asian shares fell again as China's central bank guided the value of the yuan down against the dollar for a second consecutive day. | |
The People's Bank of China fixed the daily midpoint for the currency down 1.6% to 6.3306 against the dollar. | |
The Shanghai Composite share index was down by 0.9% at 3,893.34 while markets in the rest of the region fell even more sharply. | |
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 2.2% to 23,954.17. | |
China's central bank tried to calm market concerns on Wednesday, saying that there was no basis for a sustained depreciation of the yuan given global and domestic economic conditions. | |
Overnight, US stocks had fallen sharply in reaction to Beijing's surprise decision, leading to a negative start to morning trading across Asia. | |
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index, closed down 1.6% at 20,392.77. | |
South Korea's benchmark Kospi index ended the day down 0.6% at 1,975.47. | |
However, Korean carmakers bucked the downward trend. Strong sales figures for Kia and Hyundai helped shares in both of their companies rose by more than 5%. | |
Also, feeling the aftershocks of China's surprise move, the Australian S&P/ASX 200 index finished 1.7% lower at 5,382.10. | |
Shares in the country's biggest bank, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, were halted from trading as the lender announced a A$5bn capital-raising in order to meet stricter regulatory requirements. | Shares in the country's biggest bank, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, were halted from trading as the lender announced a A$5bn capital-raising in order to meet stricter regulatory requirements. |