INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Japan's Nikkei share average fell 1.1 per cent to its lowest since early January.Asian stocks slumped to their lowest levels this year and
the dollar hit 10-month highs on Thursday as a double-whammy of worries about global growth and an end to central bank support drove nervous
investors toward safe assets.Commodities were also sold with oil down for a sixth straight session and at three-month lows, while growth
bellwether copper fell to a two-month trough.MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 1.63 per cent to its lowest
S-P 500 futures fell 0.4 per cent and Euro STOXX 50 futures were off 0.86 per cent towards the end of the Asia day.Japan's Nikkei share
average fell 1.1 per cent to its lowest since early January pulled down by Toyota Motor whose shares tumbled on news that it will slash its
output by 40 per cent next month due to a chip shortage."You can't find a bull out there," said Kay Van-Petersen, a global macro strategist
at Saxo Capital Markets in Singapore.He said "an accumulation of things," from the spread of the Delta virus variant to a tech crackdown in
China and the impression from Federal Reserve minutes that a slowdown in asset purchases looms, was enough to hit fragile sentiment in
Asia.The dollar rose 0.35 per cent to $1.167 per euro, hitting its highest since November 2020 along with the dollar index as the U.S
currency scaled 2021 peaks on the Australian and New Zealand dollars.Selling pressure in stock markets extended from Chinese tech shares to
semiconductors and miners
The rout even led to Taiwan's Finance Ministry calling state-owned banks to suggest they buy an "appropriate" amount of stocks, Reuters
reported, citing five people familiar with the matter.The Taiwan benchmark closed down 2.7 per cent at a three month trough, with chip giant
TSMC down 2.6 per cent.The Hang Seng tech index fell 2 per cent to its lowest level since its launch last year, with Alibaba's Hong Kong
shares falling 4.8 per cent to a record low
The broader Hang Seng dropped 1.6 per cent.Further south, tumbling iron ore prices pushed shares in global miners BHP and Rio Tinto to their
lowest in months, even after BHP reported its best profit in almost a decade on Tuesday."The spreading Delta variant is pushing down
economic growth," said Ayako Sera, market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank."But on the other hand, in the grand scheme of things,
the Federal Reserve and some other central banks are starting to remove stimulus they began to deal with the pandemic ..
so the balance is tilting in the direction of risk-aversion."The CBOE Volatility index, also known as Wall Street's fear gauge, jumped 3.66
points to its highest level in about a month overnight and the S-P 500 index fell 1 per cent to a two-week low.Minutes from the Fed's July
meeting published on Wednesday showed officials expected they could ease stimulus this year, though there was division over recovery in the
labour market and the level of risk posed by coronavirus cases rising again."The minutes show a Fed that is pretty split on most things, but
recognises that we are getting much closer to the point of tapering," ING analysts said in a note.Focus now shifts to the Fed's annual
research conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, next week for any clues about the central bank's next steps.U.S
Treasury yields held near recent lows in Asia
Benchmark 10-year notes were last at 1.2430 per cent with growth wobbles driving demand for bonds.Oil extended losses into a sixth day on
Thursday, falling to three-month lows
ANZ analysts said rising U.S
inventories had fuelled fears of weaker demand amid a spike in COVID-19 cases worldwide.Brent crude was last down 1.5 per cent to 67.15 a
crude lost 1.94 per cent to trade at $64.21 a barrel.The stronger dollar also dragged on gold, with the spot price dropping 0.65 per cent to
