MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 0.35%, having fallen 1.65% so far this week, while Japan’s Nikkei slid 1.30%.
A whistleblower report released on Thursday said President Donald Trump not only abused his office in attempting to solicit Ukraine’s interference in the 2020 U.S. election for his political benefit, but that the White House tried to “lock down” evidence about that conduct.
The report came after the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi launched an impeachment inquiry into him this week.
On trade issues, news headlines were too mixed for investors to show a clear reaction.
CNBC reported that trade war talks were scheduled for Oct. 10-11 in Washington, citing people familiar with the arrangements, and China’s top diplomat said China was willing to buy more U.S. products.
· Japanese shares fell the most in almost five weeks on Friday after Kansai Electric Power Co Inc revealed payments to executives from an outside individual, at a time the government is calling for improved governance to attract foreign investors.
The Nikkei 225 index ended down 0.77% at 21,878.90 after briefly touching its lowest since Sept. 11.
At a hastily arranged news conference on Friday, Kansai Electric President Shigeki Iwane said he and some other executives had received 320 million yen payments from a person outside the company over a period of seven years.
· China stocks edged up on Friday, but posted their sharpest weekly loss since early August due to trade uncertainties and slowing growth, ahead of a week-long holiday.
The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.3% to 3,852.65, while the Shanghai Composite Index inched up 0.1% to 2,932.17.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose by 0.4% shortly after the opening bell, with basic resouces adding 0.9% to lead gains while technology stocks traded at the flatline, as falling chipmaker shares weighed on the sector.
Investor focus is largely attuned to political developments in the U.S., following the release of a whistleblower complaint against President Donald Trump.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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