Asian markets down on Iraq fears

Asian stocks were mixed, after US President Barack Obama on Friday said he had authorised air strikes against Sunni extremist militants in Iraq as concerns grew about the security situation there. Tokyo stocks dropped to a 2-month low, falling 2.98 per cent, or 454.00 points, to close at 14,778.37. Sydney was down 1.34 per cent, or 73.7 points, to close at 5,435.3, while Seoul lost 1.14 per cent, or 23.41 points, to end at 2,031.10. Hong Kong fluctuated through afternoon trade before closing down 0.23 per cent, or 56.15 points, to 24,331.41. However, stocks in mainland China bucked the downward regional trend after the world’s second-largest economy saw export growth accelerate. Shanghai closed up 0.31 per cent, or 6.76 points, at 2,194.43, and Shenzhen gained 0.68 per cent, or 7.91 points, to 1,174.41. ‘The market is very thin and highly reactive to overseas inputs,’ Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires. China’s monthly trade surplus jumped to a record $47.3 billion in July. Exports increased 14.5 per cent year-on-year to $212.9b, the General Administration of Customs announced, while imports decreased 1.6 per cent to $165.6 b. In Malaysia, the majority shareholder of ailing Malaysia Airlines said the firm is to be de-listed and taken private ahead of a major restructure following the twin disasters of flights MH370 and MH17. State investment fund Khazanah Nasional, which owns 70 per cent of the carrier, said it would purchase all minority shares in the firm, according to AFP.