Asian shares shrink on Wall St sell off

Asian markets mostly fell on Friday, following another Wall Street sell-off as oil prices shot up to a nine-month high on concerns about the growing crisis in Iraq. Assets considered safe options in times of uncertainty also benefited, with gold up and the yen holding on to healthy gains seen in US trade. Investors are also awaiting the release of Chinese indicators and the end of a Bank of Japan policy meeting later in the day. Tokyo fell 0.78 per cent, Sydney tumbled 0.94 per cent and Seoul sank 1.00 per cent but Hong Kong added 0.14 per cent and Shanghai was flat. New York’s three main indexes took a hit Thursday on news that Iraqi jihadists were pushing towards Baghdad after capturing a town to the north. The Dow fell 0.65 percent and the S&P 500 lost 0.71 percent -- both having hit record highs earlier in the week -- and the Nasdaq sank 0.79 percent. US President Barack Obama raised the prospect of possible air strikes when he said his national security team "is looking at all the options". Forces from the autonomous Kurdish region took control of disputed northern oil hub of Kirkuk to protect it from attack, officials said. On foreign exchange markets the dollar was at 101.78 yen in early trade, compared with 101.68 yen in New York trade and well off the 102.08 yen in Tokyo earlier Thursday. The euro was at 137.95 yen from 137.80 yen in New York but also well off the 138.10 yen in Asia Thursday. The single currency also bought $1.3554 compared with $1.3553. With high oil prices raising the chances of a jump in inflation traders moved into gold, which is a hedge against rising prices. The precious metal was up at $1,273.95 an ounce at 0230 GMT compared with $1,264.20 late Thursday, according to AFP.