US stock futures fall, Asia follows after Canada arrests Huawei CFO
US stock futures and Asian shares tumbled on Thursday after Canadian authorities arrested a top executive of Chinese tech giant Huawei for extradition to the US, fanning fears of a fresh flare-up in tensions between the two superpowers.
The news came as Washington and Beijing begin three months of negotiations aimed at de-escalating their bruising trade war, which is adding to global investors' worries over rising US interest rates and other risks to global economic growth.
The S&P500 e-mini futures fell almost 2 percent at one point in thin Asian morning trade and were last were down 1.2 percent.
The losses in the first few minutes of trading might have been even steeper, but CME Group's Chicago Mercantile Exchange implemented a series of 10-second trading halts that helped limit the initial drop. Japan's Nikkei slid 1.7 percent, with semiconductor related shares leading the losses.
Huawei is one of the world's largest makers of smartphones and telecommunications network equipment. MSCI's ex-Japan Asia-Pacific index fell 1.2 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 2.1 percent, while Shanghai shares dropped 0.9 percent.
Canadian authorities said they had arrested Huawei's global chief financial officer in Vancouver, where she is facing extradition to the US. The arrest is related to violations of US sanctions, a person familiar with the matter said, though officials have so far stayed mum on her allegations.
The arrest heightened the sense of a major collision between the world's two largest economic powers not just over tariffs but also over technological hegemony.
Britain's BT said on Wednesday it was removing Huawei's equipment from the core of its existing 3G and 4G mobile operations. Australia and New Zealand have also rejected Huawei's products.
“The US has been telling its allies not to use Huawei products for security reasons and is likely to continue to put pressure on its allies,” said Norihiro Fujito, chief investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.
“So while there was a brief moment of optimism after the weekend US-China talks but the reality is, it won't be that easy,” he said.
Markets had initially brightened after US and Chinese leaders agreed to a temporary trade truce at a meeting on Saturday. But the mood has quickly soured on skepticism that the two sides can reach a substantive deal on a host of highly divisive issues within the tight 90-day time-frame set out.
The benchmark Treasury 10-year yield fell 1.7 basis points to 2.906 percent, near Tuesday's three-month low of 2.885 percent. US markets were closed on Wednesday to mark the death of former President George H.W. Bush.
The yield curve remained inverted between two- and five-year zones, with five-year notes yielding 2.782 percent, below 2.795 percent on two-year notes.
“Worries about a US economic slowdown are deepening as housing and other interest rate-sensitive sectors seem to have been hit,” said Shuji Shirota, head of macroeconomic strategy at HSBC.
“If the upcoming US jobs data on Friday shows some weakness, markets will face a major challenge,” he added.
Oil prices dipped slightly ahead of a meeting by producer group OPEC that is expected to result in a supply cut aimed at draining a glut that has pulled down crude prices by 30 percent since October.
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