ROME: Asian stocks were mostly lower on Wednesday, taking their lead from weaker U.S. shares, while the dollar slid against the yen as Tokyo’s Nikkei recoiled in volatile trade.
As share volatility rose, spreadbetters forecast a significantly lower open for Britain’s FTSE .FTSE, Germany’s DAX .GDAXI and France’s CAC .FCHI.
Crude OIL PRICES continued to decline as negotiations between Iran and world powers over nuclear technology extended beyond a deadline.
The protracted negotiations have drawn attention due to their potential impact on crude supply of a settlement. Wall Street slid overnight, weighed by declines in the healthcare sector and in energy shares as OIL PRICES contracted.
U.S. crude oil was down 0.3 percent at $47.46 a barrel CLc1 after losing 2.2 percent on Tuesday. Brent crude LCOc1 dipped 0.1 percent to $55.08 a barrel.S&P futures ESc1 were down 0.7 percent during the Asian session after earlier shedding more than 1 percent.
Asia’s decliners included South Korean, Australian, Malaysian and Indonesian stocks. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS stood little changed, meandering in and out of the red.