Global stocks lower as investors watch US-N. Korea tensions

BEIJING (AP) – Global stocks declined Tuesday as investors watched U.S.-North Korean tensions and looked ahead to a speech by the American central bank chief.

KEEPING SCORE: In early trading, London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.2 percent to 7,282.99 and Germany’s DAX lost 0.1 percent to 12,576.42. France’s CAC 40 shed 0.1 percent to 5,259.49. On Monday, the CAC 40 lost 0.3 percent, the FTSE 100 dipped 0.1 percent and the DAX was little-changed. On Wall Street, futures for the Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor’s 500 were down 0.1 percent.

ASIA’S DAY: Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.3 percent to 20,330.19 and the Shanghai Composite Index was unchanged at 3,343.58. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained just under 0.1 percent to 27,517.13 and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 lost 0.2 percent to 5,671.00. India’s Sensex shed 0.3 percent to 31,535.50 and Seoul’s Kospi declined 0.3 percent to 2,374.32. Benchmarks in Bangkok and New Zealand rose while other Southeast Asian markets declined.

WALL STREET: Losses for technology stocks overshadowed gains in other areas to send broad U.S. indexes lower. Tech stocks in the Standard & Poor’s index lost 1.4 percent – more than three times the loss of any of the other 10 sectors that make up the index. Facebook fell 4.5 percent, Nvidia lost 4.5 percent and video-game developer Electronic Arts lost 3.6 percent. The S&P dropped 0.2 percent to 2,496.66. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.2 percent to 22,296.09 and the Nasdaq composite dropped 0.9 percent to 6,370.59.

NORTH KOREA: Investors looked for safe havens for their money after North Korea’s top diplomat said a weekend tweet by President Donald Trump was a “declaration of war” and North Korea has the right to shoot down U.S. bombers. Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said by tweeting that North Korea’s leadership led by Kim Jong Un “won’t be around much longer,” Trump “declared the war on our country.” The White House pushed back on Ri’s claim, saying, “We have not declared war on North Korea.”

ANALYST’S TAKE: “If this goes the way of all other such spells of risk off, we will have a couple of days of this safe-haven seeking, and then all will go quiet, and markets will quickly return to normal,” Rob Carnell of ING said in a report.

FED WATCH: Investors looked ahead to a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on inflation and monetary policy. Investors are also waiting to hear more details about Trump’s plans to cut taxes. In speeches this week, Vice Chairman William C. Dudley said the Fed still had a case for another interest rate hike, while board members Neel Kashkari and Charles Evans said it needed to give inflation more time.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude lost 22 cents to $52.00 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract soared $1.56 on Monday to close at $52.22. Brent crude, used to price international oils, declined 33 cents to $58.10 in London. It jumped $2.01 the previous session to $58.43.

CURRENCY: The dollar edged up to 111.70 yen from Monday’s 111.69. The euro declined to $1.1811 from $1.1847.

Chinese investors monitor stock prices at a brokerage house in Beijing, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017. Asian stocks were little changed Tuesday as investors watched U.S.-North Korean tensions after a decline in tech shares dragged down Wall Street. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

A Chinese investor monitors stock prices at a brokerage house in Beijing, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017. Asian stocks were little changed Tuesday as investors watched U.S.-North Korean tensions after a decline in tech shares dragged down Wall Street. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)