Most Asian stock markets near bear territory, China worst hit

Most Asian stock markets are on the verge of entering bear territory as investors grapple with the escalating Sino-U.S trade dispute, a stronger dollar and most recently Turkey`s economic woes.

Nine of Asia`s 12 major stock indexes are trading below their 200-day moving average, a technical analysis showed, suggesting further downside risks to these markets.

Analysts consider the percentage of stocks trading above or below 200-day moving average as an indicator of strength or weakness of the underlying market.

China has the worst ratio, with 88 percent of its companies trading below the 200-day moving average, followed by the Philippines and Singapore.

On the other hand, India and Malaysia are in an uptrend, with more than half of their companies trading above the 200-day moving average.

Another signal that analysts look to confirm a bear market is whether stocks have declined 20 percent from their year-highs.

China again leads the pack, with a slump of 21 percent from this year`s peak of 3,523 in early January, followed by Hong Kong and the Philippines.

"Looking at Asia stocks, indeed the broad trend had leaned towards a bearish one with the sharp drop this week," said Jingyi Pan, a Singapore-based market strategist at trading and investments provider IG.

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She added that the confluence of factors including the protracted U.S.-China trade tensions and Turkish contagion fears can be seen driving the downturn in Asian markets, although it`s far from certain which way these risks could turn.