Asian shares mixed as Ukraine tensions send US stocks lower

BANGKOK (AP) — Stocks fell Friday in Asia after a retreat on Wall Street as escalating worries over the possibility Russia may invade Ukraine rattled global financial markets.

Benchmarks were moderately lower in Tokyo, Sydney and Hong Kong, but rose in Shanghai.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 fell 2.1%, its biggest drop in two weeks, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 1.8% and the Nasdaq composite slid 2.9%. The losses wiped out the major indexes’ weekly gains.

The wave of selling came as President Joe Biden warned that Russia, which is believed to have built up some 150,000 military forces near Ukraine’s borders, could invade within days. Dignitaries raced for solutions but suspicions between East and West only seemed to grow, as NATO allies rejected Russian assertions it was pulling back troops from exercises that had fueled fears of an attack.

The Ukraine crisis has hung over markets for weeks, adding to volatility in markets. Russia is a major energy producer and if it invades Ukraine and other governments respond with economic sanctions, that could impede access to about 7% of the global energy market, said Tom Martin, a senior portfolio manager with Globalt Investments.

“Without any clear resolution in the near term, the uncertainty for a potential invasion is sufficient to keep market participants shunning from risk assets, while flocking to safe-havens," Yeap Jun Rong of IG said in a commentary.

Japan reported Friday that its core inflation rate, excluding volatile energy and food costs, rose 0.2% in January, way below the decades-high figures seen in most major economies and far short of the Bank of Japan's 2% target.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index lost 0.3% to 27,154.99, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gave up 0.4% to 24,685.44. The Kospi in Seoul lost 0.1%...