Asian stock markets plunge amid fears of a global banking crisis

Ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting to decide on further possible interest rate hikes, markets in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Sydney fell. While in Shanghai, shares rose. Oil prices also fell.

Swiss authorities announced on Sunday that UBS would acquire its smaller rival as regulators try to allay fears about banks following the collapse of two US lenders.

Central banks have announced coordinated efforts to stabilize lenders, including a facility to borrow US dollars if necessary.

A person walks past an electronic stock board displaying Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm on Monday, March 20, 2023, in Tokyo.
Asian stock markets fell on Monday after Swiss authorities staged the acquisition of Credit Suisse amid fears of a global banking crisis (Eugene Hoshiko/AP)

Investors worry that banks are cracking under the pressure of unexpectedly fast large rate hikes over the past year to cool economic activity and inflation. That caused the prices of bonds and other assets on its books to fall, fueling concerns about the financial health of the industry.

“Investors are waiting to see where the dust settles in the banking saga before making any bold moves,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a report.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 2.5% to 19,023.69 and Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 lost 1.1% to 27,030.90. The Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.1% to 3,254.81.

Seoul’s Kospi fell 0.4% to 2,387.06 and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 lost 1.2% to 6,913.80. The New Zealand and Southeast Asian markets also declined.

A person walks past an electronic stock board displaying Japan's Nikkei 225 and New York's Dow indices at a stock firm on Monday, March 20, 2023, in Tokyo.
A person walks past an electronic stock board displaying Japan’s Nikkei 225 and New York’s Dow indices at a stock firm on Monday (Eugene Hoshiko/AP)

The Swiss government said UBS will acquire Credit Suisse for nearly $3.25bn (£2.6bn) after a plan for the troubled lender to borrow up to $54bn from Switzerland’s central bank failed to reassure investors and customers.

US regulators have also tried to assuage fears about threats to banking systems. The Federal Reserve said cash-strapped banks had borrowed about $300 billion from the Federal Reserve in the week ending Thursday.

Separately, New York Community Bank has agreed to buy a significant part of the failed Signature Bank in a $2.7bn (£2.2bn) deal, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said on Sunday. ). The FDIC said $60 billion in Signature Bank loans will remain in default and are expected to be sold on time.

That fueled concerns about other lenders with shaky finances. Credit Suisse is among the 30 institutions known as systemically important banks globally. Before its acquisition, Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index lost 1.1% on Friday to 3,916.64.

A sign displays the Credit Suisse name on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York
A sign displays the name of Credit Suisse on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York (Seth Wenig/AP)

First Republic Bank shares plunged nearly 33% to take their drop for the week to 71.8%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.2% to 31,861.98. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.7% to 11,630.51.

Unexpectedly large and rapid rate hikes by the Federal Reserve and other central banks to cool inflation near multi-decade highs have caused the prices of bonds and other assets on their books to fall.

Traders hope that last week’s turmoil will push the Fed to limit a rate hike at its meeting this week to 0.25 percentage point. That would be the same as the previous rise and half the margin that traders had previously expected.

Source

Leave a Reply