Asian shares slipped Friday following a drop on Wall Street as the stronger dollar sent Japanese issues lower and the arrest of an executive at Samsung weighed on Korean stocks.
KEEPING SCORE: Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.6 percent to 19,238.81 in morning trading. South Korea’s Kospi edged down 0.1 percent to 2,079.60. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell nearly 0.2 percent to 5,807.20. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.1 percent to 24,082.17, while the Shanghai Composite was also down 0.1 percent at 3,225.75.
WALL STREET: The S&P 500 fell 2.03 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,347.22. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 7.91 points, less than 0.1 percent, to set another record at 20,619.77. The Nasdaq composite dipped 4.54 points, or 0.1 percent, to 5,814.90.
THE QUOTE: "The future outlook is clouded by rising political uncertainties and waves of anti-globalization sentiments from the U.S. and Europe. As US reaches full employment and approaches closer to the Fed’s inflation target, a tighter Federal monetary policy is expected to lead to a stronger US dollar in the months ahead. This might worry investors," says Margaret Yang Yan, market analyst at CMC Markets in Singapore.
SAMSUNG WOES: A South Korean court approved the arrest of a billionaire heir to Samsung accused of bribery and other corruption scandal, a stunning development for the nation’s richest family. Being arrested is Lee Jae-yong, 48, a vice chairman at Samsung Electronics and son of Samsung chair Lee Kun-hee. The news sent Samsung Electronics stock down by more than 1 percent.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude rose 10 cents to $53.46 a barrel in New York. It rose 25 cents to settle at $53.36 per barrel Thursday. Brent crude, the international standard, added 13 cents to $53.78 a barrel.
CURRENCIES: The dollar fell slightly to 113.42 yen from 113.61 yen late Thursday. The euro rose to $1.0672 from $1.0635.
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AP Markets Writer Marley Jay and Business Writer Stan Choe contributed.
Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at https://twitter.com/yurikageyama
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