Asian stocks fell with U.S. equity-index futures, Brent crude oil dropped to a two-year low and copper slid after Chinese factory and retail data added to evidence a slowdown is deepening. Australia’s dollar weakened to a more-than five-month low.
The MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index lost 0.7 percent by 11:18 a.m. in Hong Kong, where the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index dropped 1.5 percent. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures fell 0.4 percent after the U.S. gauge dropped 0.6 percent Sept. 12. The Aussie retreated a sixth day while Indonesia’s rupiah weakened to a two-month low versus the dollar. Crude in London and New York sank at least 0.6 percent. Copper fell 0.8 percent. Sweden’s krona weakened as the country faced a hung parliament. Gold climbed from an eight-month low.
Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc cut its 2014 estimate for Chinese economic expansion to 7.2 percent from 7.6 percent after August industrial output growth was the weakest since the global financial crisis. Factory data is due in the U.S., where the fastest increase in retail sales in four months bolstered speculation the Federal Reserve will signal a move toward interest-rate increases at a meeting this week. The Bank for International Settlements warned international borrowing and low volatility are increasing risk for emerging-market assets.
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