GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian shares drop to 3-week low, U.S. politics adds to gloom

In This Article:

* Trump Whistleblower report seen raising U.S. uncertainties

* U.S.-China trade talks expected in early October

* Chip-related shares take a hit after Micron's bleak outlook

* Asian stock markets: https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4

By Hideyuki Sano

TOKYO, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Asian shares slipped to three-week lows on Friday as the release of a whistleblower complaint against U.S. President Donald Trump added to uncertainties about the global economy, already reeling from the China-U.S. trade war.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.42%, having fallen 1.72% so far this week, while Japan's Nikkei slid 1.27%.

U.S. S&P 500 futures fell 0.2% in Asian trading after the index dropped 0.24% on Thursday.

A whistleblower report released on Thursday said President Donald Trump not only abused his office in attempting to solicit Ukraine's interference in the 2020 U.S. election for his political benefit, but that the White House tried to "lock down" evidence about that conduct.

The report came after the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi launched an impeachment inquiry into him this week.

"The start of the impeachment inquiry adds a new element of uncertainties to markets, in addition to ongoing concerns about the U.S.-China trade war and the risk of a U.S. recession," said Norihiro Fujito, chief investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.

"While no one thinks the Senate will vote for his impeachment given the Republican majority there, we could see more new revelations during a long investigation process," he added.

On trade issues, news headlines were too mixed for investors to show a clear reaction.

CNBC reported that trade war talks were scheduled for Oct. 10-11 in Washington, citing people familiar with the arrangements, and China's top diplomat said China was willing to buy more U.S. products.

But other media reports on Thursday that the United States is unlikely to allow American firms to supply China's Huawei Technologies undermined hopes of a complete deal between the countries.

The damage is already evident as Micron Technology Inc , a major Huawei supplier, forecast first-quarter profit below Wall Street targets, pushing its share prices down 7% in after-hours trade.

That in turn hit chip-related shares in Asia such as Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Tokyo Electron .

In the currency market, the euro hovered near a 2-1/2-year low amid concerns about sluggish growth in the currency bloc, with rising fear of recession in its biggest economy, Germany.