Asian markets lower after Thai military coup

HONG KONG -- Asian stocks and currencies were lower Wednesday, with the Thai baht stabilizing at 37.745 to the dollar after touching a nearly seven-month low of 37.9 overnight in the wake of a military coup in Bangkok that overthrew Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The Thai military ordered all banks, stock exchanges and offices to remain closed Wednesday.
The overnight move in the baht was its biggest one-day decline in three years.
Analysts said the Thai economy, with more than $60 billion in foreign exchange reserves, was in a much better fiscal position to ride out the political crisis than it was nearly 10 years ago and it was unlikely there would be a bigger impact on the region.

The Asian currency crisis that erupted July 1997 began with the devaluation of the Thai baht, then snowballed into a crisis in emerging markets around the world.
Elsewhere around the region, Japan's Nikkei 225 Average (JP:1804610: news, chart, profile) was down 1.1% at 15,696.50. The broader Topix index was down 1.4% at 1,569.61. The dollar bought 117.265 yen, down from its level of 117.58 yen in late New York trading.

Australian shares also opened lower, with the S&P/ASX 200 declining 1% to 4,967.90. The Singapore Straits Times Index was down 0.8%, while South Korea's Kospi index was down 0.6%.
Shares listed in Shanghai and Malaysia also declined. New Zealand's leading share index fell 0.9%.
Taiwan's Weighted Index traded flat.



I'll put a wager on the US market is flat as well tomorrow. How long until BioTech breaks out in fall/winter trading? There's a fall chill in the air, let's go!