Hong Kong Stocks Lead Asian Markets Retreat

Hong Kong shares tumbled on Wednesday after Donald Trump threw a historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in doubt and hit out at a China-US agreement that averted a trade war.

The Hang Seng Index sank 1.8 percent, to 30,665.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.4 percent, to 3,168 and the Shenzhen Composite Index gave up 1.1 percent, to 1,834.

Tokyo ended 1.2 percent down, Sydney slipped 0.2 percent, Singapore was 1 percent off and Wellington lost 0.7 percent.

Taipei, Manila and Bangkok were all sharply down but Seoul was up 0.3 percent, while Jakarta also moved higher.

The dash for safer investments saw the yen – a go-to asset in times of uncertainty and turmoil – rise against the US dollar, with lingering concerns about a scandal enveloping Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe adding to the cautious tone.

However, the US unit pushed up against the euro, pound and higher-yielding currencies such as the Korean won and Indonesian rupiah.

The release later on Wednesday of minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting is on traders' radar, with hopes they will provide some clarity on the central bank's plans for raising interest rates this year. (AFP)