Asian markets slip as tensions remain high after attack on Saudi oil facilities

By Marketwatch and Associated Press

Bloomberg News

A screen displays stock figures outside the Exchange Square complex, which houses the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, in Hong Kong.

Asian markets fell in early trading Tuesday, a day after oil prices spiked and global markets slipped following a weekend attack on Saudi Arabian oil facilities.

President Donald Trump on Monday said it “looks” like Iran was behind the attack, but suggested no military response was imminent. The Saudi government called the attack an “unprecedented act of aggression and sabotage” but stopped short of directly pinning blame on Iran. Tehran denied responsibility for the strike, which knocked out about half of Saudi Arabia’s oil production. Oil prices jumped more than 14% on Monday, but crude futures   were far more subdued Tuesday.

“The calming overtones from Saudi officials suggesting the situation is manageable, after telling other OPEC members not to respond with extra output, have temporarily taken the edge of the disruption,” said Stephen Innes, Asia-Pacific market strategist at AxiTrader, in a note.

Japan’s Nikkei /zigman2/quotes/210597971/delayed JP:NIK +0.13%  , which was closed for a holiday Monday, slipped 0.1%, as Trump told Congress that the U.S. and Japan are ready to sign a limited trade deal. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index /zigman2/quotes/210598030/delayed HK:HSI +0.15%   fell 0.9% and the Shanghai Composite /zigman2/quotes/210598127/delayed CN:SHCOMP -2.75%   slid about 0.9% while the Shenzhen Composite /zigman2/quotes/210598015/delayed CN:399106 -3.45%   dropped 1.2%. South Korea’s Kospi /zigman2/quotes/210598069/delayed KR:180721 -0.93%   edged up 0.2%, while benchmark indexes in Taiwan /zigman2/quotes/210597977/delayed TW:Y9999 +0.24%  , Singapore /zigman2/quotes/210597985/delayed SG:STI +0.17%   and Indonesia /zigman2/quotes/210597981/delayed ID:JAKIDX -0.08%   were mixed. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 /zigman2/quotes/210598100/delayed AU:XJO +0.04%   was about flat.

Among individual stocks, oil producer Inpex /zigman2/quotes/206689846/delayed JP:1605 -0.51%   surged in Tokyo trading, as did e-commerce company Rakuten /zigman2/quotes/201861450/delayed JP:4755 +0.45%  , while SoftBank /zigman2/quotes/207303954/delayed JP:9984 +0.06%   fell. In Hong Kong, Geely Automobile /zigman2/quotes/200716015/delayed HK:175 -1.18%   and Hang Lung Properties /zigman2/quotes/200230831/delayed HK:101 +1.58%   declined. LG Electronics /zigman2/quotes/209966407/delayed KR:066570 -1.99%   slipped in South Korea and Foxconn /zigman2/quotes/204111604/delayed TW:2354 -0.15%   fell in Taiwan. BHP /zigman2/quotes/201448516/delayed AU:BHP -1.53%   and Rio Tinto /zigman2/quotes/200083756/delayed AU:RIO -2.83%   dropped in Australia, while Woodside Petroleum /zigman2/quotes/203437212/delayed AU:WPL +0.40%   gained.

/zigman2/quotes/210597971/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:NIK

NIKKEI 225 Index

JP : Nikkei

23,827.18

+31.74 +0.13%

Volume: 0.00

Jan. 24, 2020 3:15p

/zigman2/quotes/210598030/delayed

Add to watchlist HK:HSI

Hang Seng Index

HK : Hong Kong Exchange

27,949.64

+40.52 +0.15%

Volume: 612,128

Jan. 24, 2020 12:08p

/zigman2/quotes/210598127/delayed

Add to watchlist CN:SHCOMP

Shanghai Composite Index

CN : China: Shanghai

2,976.53

-84.23 -2.75%

Volume: 0.00

Jan. 23, 2020 3:01p

/zigman2/quotes/210598015/delayed

Add to watchlist CN:399106

Shenzhen Composite Index

CN : Shenhzen Stock Exchange

1,756.82

-62.80 -3.45%

Volume: 0.00

Jan. 23, 2020 3:00p

/zigman2/quotes/210598069/delayed

Add to watchlist KR:180721

KOSPI Composite Index

KR : Korea Exchange

2,246.13

-21.12 -0.93%

Volume: 0.00

Jan. 23, 2020 3:32p

/zigman2/quotes/210597977/delayed

Add to watchlist TW:Y9999

Taiwan TAIEX

TW : Taiwan Stock Exchange

12,118.71

+28.42 +0.24%

Volume: 0.00

Jan. 20, 2020 1:31p

/zigman2/quotes/210597985/delayed

Add to watchlist SG:STI

FTSE Straits Times Index

SG : Singapore: SGX

3,240.02

+5.46 +0.17%

Volume: 0.00

Jan. 24, 2020 12:20p

/zigman2/quotes/210597981/delayed

Add to watchlist ID:JAKIDX

JSX Composite Index

ID : Indonesia Stock Exchange

6,244.11

-5.10 -0.08%

Volume: 0.00

Jan. 24, 2020 4:00p

/zigman2/quotes/210598100/delayed

Add to watchlist AU:XJO

S&P/ASX 200 Benchmark Index

AU : S&P ASX

7,090.50

+2.50 +0.04%

Volume: 477,556

Jan. 24, 2020 5:39p

/zigman2/quotes/206689846/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:1605

Inpex Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 1,073.50

-5.50 -0.51%

Volume: 4.59M

Jan. 24, 2020 3:00p

P/E Ratio

11.92

Dividend Yield

2.52%

Market Cap

¥1567.52 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥291.81M

/zigman2/quotes/201861450/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:4755

Rakuten Inc.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 890.00

+4.00 +0.45%

Volume: 8.98M

Jan. 24, 2020 3:00p

P/E Ratio

64.04

Dividend Yield

0.51%

Market Cap

¥1206.42 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥74.20M

/zigman2/quotes/207303954/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:9984

SoftBank Group Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 4,772.00

+3.00 +0.06%

Volume: 6.31M

Jan. 24, 2020 3:00p

P/E Ratio

10.79

Dividend Yield

0.92%

Market Cap

¥9883.95 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥126.96M

/zigman2/quotes/200716015/delayed

Add to watchlist HK:175

Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd.

HK : Hong Kong

HK$ 13.44

-0.16 -1.18%

Volume: 27.60M

Jan. 24, 2020 12:08p

P/E Ratio

10.83

Dividend Yield

2.60%

Market Cap

HK$123.70 billion

Rev. per Employee

HK$3.04M

/zigman2/quotes/200230831/delayed

Add to watchlist HK:101

Hang Lung Properties Ltd.

HK : Hong Kong

HK$ 17.98

+0.28 +1.58%

Volume: 5.99M

Jan. 24, 2020 12:08p

P/E Ratio

13.10

Dividend Yield

4.23%

Market Cap

HK$80.87 billion

Rev. per Employee

HK$2.12M

/zigman2/quotes/209966407/delayed

Add to watchlist KR:066570

LG Electronics Inc.

KR : S. Korea: KRX

₩ 69,000.00

-1,400 -1.99%

Volume: 0.00

Jan. 23, 2020 3:30p

P/E Ratio

16.87

Dividend Yield

1.09%

Market Cap

₩12424.60 billion

Rev. per Employee

N/A

/zigman2/quotes/204111604/delayed

Add to watchlist TW:2354

Foxconn Technology Co. Ltd.

TW : Taiwan

NT$ 65.90

-0.10 -0.15%

Volume: 0.00

Jan. 20, 2020 1:30p

P/E Ratio

10.37

Dividend Yield

4.86%

Market Cap

NT$93.21 billion

Rev. per Employee

NT$888.52M

/zigman2/quotes/201448516/delayed

Add to watchlist AU:BHP

BHP Group Ltd.

AU : Australia: Sydney

$ 40.45

-0.63 -1.53%

Volume: 6.53M

Jan. 24, 2020 4:10p

P/E Ratio

17.03

Dividend Yield

4.74%

Market Cap

$204.55 billion

Rev. per Employee

N/A

/zigman2/quotes/200083756/delayed

Add to watchlist AU:RIO

Rio Tinto Ltd.

AU : Australia: Sydney

$ 103.18

-3.01 -2.83%

Volume: 1.88M

Jan. 24, 2020 4:10p

P/E Ratio

9.40

Dividend Yield

8.70%

Market Cap

$167.54 billion

Rev. per Employee

$1.14M

/zigman2/quotes/203437212/delayed

Add to watchlist AU:WPL

Woodside Petroleum Ltd.

AU : Australia: Sydney

$ 35.39

+0.14 +0.40%

Volume: 1.68M

Jan. 24, 2020 4:10p

P/E Ratio

19.13

Dividend Yield

5.09%

Market Cap

$33.29 billion

Rev. per Employee

$1.92M