hang seng

Markets across Asia have fallen on news the US government may be headed for its first shutdown of services in almost 20 years.

Markets across Asia started the week brightly as traders bet the withdrawal of Fed chair candidate Larry Summers' could slow the US' curtailment of quantitative easing.

Shares in investment manager Ashmore Group have jumped more than 8% after the company released strong full year results this morning.

Asian stocks have soared, led by Japan's Nikkei, as investor confidence was boosted by Tokyo winning the race to host the 2020 Olympics.

Shares in the US closed sharply lower overnight, with some indices hit by the worst one-day percentage falls since late June, as positive jobs data sparked fears of an earlier move to taper QE than expected.

Asian markets regained ground on Wednesday following falls as weaker than expected Chinese trade data sparked worries the country's growth may slow further in Q2.

Chinese shares have started the week sharply in the red, with markets off substantially amid ongoing fears about the impact of the US cutting back its stimulus programme.

Wall Street extended losses on Wednesday as fears deepened that the Federal Reserve will pull back its quantitative easing programme.

Weaker than expected economic data from China has caused a sell-off in risk assets, especially commodities.

Chinese and wider Asia stock markets were boosted today by better than expected inflation data from China.