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

STOCKS: Japanese stocks went into the lunch break in negative territory, the

Nikkei 225 down 170 points at 19,521.44. The index gapped lower at the open and

dropped further to hit session lows of 19,480 before bouncing slightly.

Following the North Korea hydrogen bomb tests equity indices are under pressure

in Asia, while safe assets are bid. This flight to safety has pushed USD/JPY

lower, the pair last at 109.78, around 50 points lower than the close on Friday.

However, the pair initially opened at around 109.23 and has gradually moved

higher through the session. All 11 sectors on the Nikkei are in the red,

telecommunications leading the way lower - down 1.35%.

- In Australia the ASX200 is down 29 points, led lower by financials as yields

drop across the curve. CBA are still weighing on the index after reports of

money laundering last week.

- The Hang Sang is down around 150 points, though mainland China shares are

proving more resilient, the Shanghai Comp down around 1.85 points.

- In the US equity futures are lower, Dow futures down around 50 points, though

volumes are thin with US markets on holiday for Labour Day.