Most Southeast Asian stock markets closed lower on Wednesday as mounting tensions between North Korea and the United States prompted investors to hop on to safe-haven assets. North Korea said it is considering plans for a missile strike on the US Pacific territory of Guam, just hours after US President Donald Trump told the North that any threat to the United States would be met with "fire and fury."
US Treasuries, gold and the safe-haven yen rose in early Asian trading. Gold prices rose while the yen hit an eight-week high against the dollar and made broad gains against other peers, reacting to the political tensions stemming from the Korean Peninsula. "Markets basically reflected the performance of the US markets last night following the statements of Trump," said Lexter Azurin, a senior analyst with Manila-based AB Capital Securities.
Wall Street's three major indexes dipped on Tuesday after Trump vowed to respond aggressively to any threats from North Korea. In Southeast Asia, Vietnam shares fell 2.3 percent, their most in nine months, dragged down by financials and consumer staples. "I think it is just a short-term correction since the regional markets are getting very sale ready and they think this great valuation was justified," Azurin said.
Thai shares fell as much as 0.5 percent, hurt by industrials. Thai Airways International dropped 2 percent, finishing lower for the fourth straight session. Malaysian shares fell slightly as industrials and consumer discretionary stocks lost ground. RHB Bank fell 1.6 percent, while MISC Bhd dropped 2.3 percent. The stocks were among the biggest percentage losers on the index.
MISC reported quarterly profit of 565.5 million ringgit ($131.91 million), compared with 1.35 billion ringgit in the year-ago quarter. Indonesian shares rose 0.2 percent, supported by materials and financials. Singapore was closed for a holiday.
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