BANGKOK: World shares and US futures skidded Tuesday as flaring conflict in the Middle East pushed oil prices higher.
A wave of Houthi attacks on oil facilities and utilities in Saudi Arabia's southern region has escalated renewed fighting between an important US ally and Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen.
In early European trading, Germany's DAX declined 0.3 per cent to 25,922.44, and the CAC 40 in Paris fell 0.2 per cent to 8,291.43. Britain's FTSE 100 was nearly unchanged, at 10,824.32.
The future for the S&P 500 was down 0.2 per cent, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7 per cent.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gave up early gains, sinking 1.7 per cent to 65,269.33 as major exporters were sold due to a surge in the value of the Japanese yen.
Shares in Toyota Motor Corp. shed 4.1 per cent, while electronics maker Panasonic Holdings Corp. fell 5.8 per cent.
Early Tuesday, the US dollar slipped to 153.86 Japanese yen from 154.34 yen. The yen has gained value against the dollar in the past few days on expectations that the US and Japanese governments might intervene to prevent the yen from weakening further. Last week, the dollar briefly rose to about 160 yen.
The government reported that the economy grew at a slightly faster annual pace in the April-June quarter than earlier reported, at 1.4 per cent. Earlier, the Cabinet Office had estimated the annualised growth rate at 1.1 per cent.
The revision reflects stronger business investment than earlier reported, though overall investment still contracted, at minus 0.9 per cent, Norihiro Yamaguchi of Oxford Economics said in a commentary.
“The boost to consumption from policy measures seen in April-May is already fading, and supply-side-driven inflation will accelerate ahead as firms will pass on increased costs, deteriorating consumers' purchasing power,” he said.
South Korea's Kospi fell back after an early rally, losing 0.6 per cent to 6,954.52. Shares in Samsung Electronics handed back early gains to slip 0.2 per cent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.4 per cent to 25,317.18, and the Shanghai Composite index edged 0.2 per cent higher, to 3,940.55.
China said its exports jumped 25 per cent year-on-year in August, driven by strong demand for autos and high-tech items.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 1 per cent to 8,920.80.
On Friday, the S&P 500 lost 0.4 per cent, and the Dow industrials fell 0.5 per cent. The Nasdaq composite gave back 0.3 per cent.
Wall Street will get important updates about inflation this week. The US will release its August report for inflation at the wholesale level, called the Producer Price Index, or the PPI, on Thursday. It provides details on prices for businesses before they pass along the costs to consumers.
On Friday, the US will release its better-known Consumer Price Index for August. The CPI is closely watched and provides details on price changes for specific grocery items, furniture, and clothing, among other categories. It also details price changes for services ranging from car maintenance to travel and restaurant dining.
In energy markets early Tuesday, Brent crude, the international standard, added 1.5 per cent to USD 98.48 a barrel as tensions simmered in the six-month US war with Iran.
Benchmark US crude surged 2.5 per cent to USD 93.79 a barrel.
In other currency dealings, the euro slipped to USD 1.1615 from USD 1.1624.