Japanese stocks went into the lunch break....>

STOCKS: Japanese stocks went into the lunch break lower, the Nikkei 225 118.95

points lower at 19,330.95. The index opened sharply lower, hitting its lowest

level since the start of May, after North Korea launched missiles over Japan.

Japanese officials say no damage was done but see the test as an escalation of

the North Korea threat. Japanese Foreign Minister has asked the UN to convene an

emergency security council meeting.

- The missile launch saw a risk off move across the board. USD/JPY is 43 pips

lower at 108.82 while JGB futures gapped higher to hit U7 contract highs at

151.24. US futures gapped lower with North Korea tensions adding to concerns

over the pending debt ceiling.

- Other shares in the region are in the red, the ASX 200 is 50 points lower,

dropping into negative territory for 2017 as a whole with consumer discretionary

and financials both down around 1.5% as lower yields across the board weigh,

along with yesterdays reports from CBA.