Asian shares, oil drop on dim U.S. outlook

Asian equities and U.S. futures were seen dropping on Thursday. The decline could be attributed to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s murky economic outlook, emerging tensions between Australia and China, and fresh coronavirus cases.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan recorded a 1.24% drop. U.S. stock futures and e-minis for the S&P 500 plunged 0.61%. Meanwhile, Australian shares tallied a 1.04% decline as diplomatic concerns emerged from Australian regulators’ move of rejecting acquisitions offered by a Chinese company.

Chinese shares dropped 0.8%, while Japan’s benchmark index Nikkei fell 0.77%. South Korean shares were down 2.11% as Seoul monitored an increase in new coronavirus cases.

Market sentiment was upbeat until Fed policymakers’ comments underscored uncertainties over the U.S. recovery. Moreover, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq reached all-time highs brought by a prosperous session of Apple Inc.