U.S. stock futures drop, yen gains after North Koreas missile launch
U.S. stock futures drop, yen gains after North Koreas missile launch
U.S. stock futures dipped and the yen rose after North Korea fired another missile over Japan into the Pacific Ocean on Friday, in a sign that Pyongyang remains defiant despite tightening international sanctions.
U.S. stock futures
Japan`s Nikkei were almost flat while South Korea`s Kospi and Australia`s main index both dipped 0.3 percent.
MSCI`s Asia-Pacific share index excluding Japan was down 0.1 percent.
Japan said the North Korean missile fell into sea about 2,000 km (1,240 miles) east of Hokkaido.
The launch came only days after the U.N. Security Council approved new sanctions against Pyongyang for its Sept. 3 nuclear test.
Still, markets are growing used to North Korea`s sabre-rattling.
"There have been reports suggesting North Korea is preparing a missile launch, so this was by no means a surprise," said Hirokazu Kabeya, chief global strategist at Daiwa Securities.
"Also, in the past, markets have stabilised within a few days after North Korea`s missile launch. So in a way this seems like something markets have already experienced before, thus producing limited reaction," he added.
Before North Korea`s missile launch, U.S. bond yields had risen while Wall Street shares were mixed after U.S. consumer inflation data rekindled expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in December.
The consumer price index rose 0.4 percent from previous month in August, faster than the 0.3 percent increase forecast among analysts polled by Reuters.
The so-called core CPI, which excludes volatile energy and food prices, rose 0.2 percent. On a 12-month basis, it was 1.7 percent, above the 1.6 percent forecast by economists.
Following the data, the U.S. Fed funds rate futures
The 10-year U.S. Treasuries yield us10yt
In currency markets, the dollar failed to capitalise on the data as its rally since the start of the week ran out of steam.
The euro traded at $1.1923 eur
The British pound held firm after the Bank of England warned it might raise interest rates for the first time in a decade in the "coming months" if the economy and price pressures keep growing.
The pound hit a one-year high of $1.3407 on Thursday and last stood at $1.3401
Oil prices jumped, with international benchmark Brent futures hitting a five-month high, supported by a string of reports forecast the market would tighten further as fuel demand increased.
Brent crude futures lcoc1
Elsewhere, bitcoin
BTCChina, one of China`s top three exchanges, said on Thursday that it would stop all trading from Sept. 30.
(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
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