* Asian stock markets: https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
* Trading in U.S. stock options raises eyebrows
* Delay in vaccine testing hurts sentiment
* Oil futures fall sharply on worries about energy demand
By Stanley White and Jessica DiNapoli
TOKYO/NEW YORK, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Asian shares fell on
Wednesday and oil prices hit lows not seen since June after a
rout of technology shares sank Wall Street for a third
consecutive day and a major drugmaker delayed testing of a
coronavirus vaccine.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS slid 1.12%. Australian stocks .AXJO dropped
2.24%, while shares in China .CSI300 fell 1.16%.
Japan's Nikkei .N225 skidded by 1.69%.
U.S. S&P 500 E-mini stock futures ESc1 fell 0.01%, but
Nasdaq futures NQc1 rose 0.72%.
Sentiment for equities and other risky assets also took a
hit after AstraZeneca Plc AZN.L paused a late-stage trial of
one of the leading COVID-19 vaccine candidates due to an
unexplained illness in a study participant. Treasury yields fell further in Asia as investors sought the
safety of holding government debt. Risk aversion also pushed the
yen to a one-week high against the dollar.
A sell-off in high-flying U.S. technology shares, fueled
partly by concerns about excess purchases of call options, has
increased the risk of a larger correction across other markets.
"The performance of Wall Street is going to leave a heavy
residue, and most noteworthy is how the tech names dropped down
quite aggressively. Investors will take a close note of that,"
said Tom Piotrowski, a markets analyst at Australian broker
CommSec.
"The dramatic fall in oil prices in the last day is being
seen as a proxy for global growth expectations. That 7.6% fall
will certainly be resonating."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 2.25%, the S&P
500 .SPX lost 2.78%, and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped
4.11% on Wall Street on Wednesday.
Among U.S. technology names, electric-car maker Tesla
TSLA.O plunged 21.06% on Tuesday, its biggest daily percentage
drop, after it was excluded from a group of companies being
added to the S&P 500.
SoftBank Group Corp 9984.T shares fell 5% on Wednesday due
to worries about the Japanese conglomerate's trading in call
options on U.S. tech stocks.
SoftBank has fallen 12% since sources told Reuters and other
media late last week that it built up stakes in major U.S. tech
companies worth around $4 billion and bought a similar amount of
call options for the underlying shares. Counterparties who sold the call options to SoftBank would
have to hedge their exposure by buying the underlying shares,
which likely contributed to the Nasdaq .IXIC and S&P 500
.SPX reaching record highs only days ago, some traders say.
U.S. 10-year Treasury yields US10YT=RR fell to 0.6722%,
while the yield curve between two-year and 10-year notes
US2US10=TWEB flattened slightly, highlighting declining
appetite for risk.
The British pound GBP=D3 fell to six-week lows against
both the dollar and the euro.
Escalating concerns over Britain leaving the European Union
without a trade agreement are weighing on sterling. The dollar index =USD against a basket of six major
currencies stood near a four-week high as Wall Street's sell-off
and renewed fears about Brexit boosted safe-harbour demand for
the greenback. Oil futures extended their sharp decline in Asian trading to
the lowest levels since June due to concern about weak global
energy demand and excess supply.
Brent LCOc1 fell 0.53% to $39.57 a barrel, while U.S.
crude CLc1 lost 0.68% to trade at $36.51 per barrel.
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Global assets http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl
Global currencies vs. dollar http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
Emerging markets http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV
MSCI All Country Wolrd Index Market Cap http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
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