Fear of US recession, sluggish data weigh on Asian stocks

Asian stock markets took the red on Monday as signals for the US recession and soft data from Japan acquired bears attention.

The US 3-month Treasury bills were up 1.9 basis point than the 10-year yield on Friday. Traders feared for the inversion as it was earlier reported ahead of 2007 recession.

Also weighing on the sentiment was January month all industry activity index from Japan. The activity gauge lagged behind +0.2% forecast to -0.2%.

Reuters reported that the MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 1.4% to a one-week trough in a broad sell-off in equities in the region.

Japan’s Nikkei is down more than 3.00% with China’s CSI 300 loosing nearby 1.7% at the press time. Markets in India, as indicated by Sensex and NIFTY 50, are mostly 1.0% negative.

On a positive note, the US-China trade deal is nearing final stages of negotiation as the US delegate will reach Beijing on March 28 for discussion whereas their Chinese counterparts led by Vice Premier Liu He will arrive Washington for another push.

In spite of brighter chances favoring a trade deal between the US and China, sluggish economics from the US, China and the EU has been a concern of equity traders’ worry off-late.