Info About 8.9 Magnitude Earthquake In Japan

A devastating earthquake hit Japan and is now affecting many Asian and Pacific nations. Asian, North American and South American countries on the Pacific Rim are facing tsunami alerts following a 8.9 magnitude earthquake, reported to have occurred near Japan's east coast today. The central bank in Japan has promised to ensure stability and liquidity of the Japanese markets. Nevertheless, Asian markets across the board are set to open markedly lower for today's trading, as fires and aftershocks continue to rage in mainland Japan.

“Our offices in Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands are on alert and staff in coastal areas have been advised, said Geoff Shepherd, World Vision's Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs Director for the Asia-Pacific region. “We've also alerted our Global Rapid Response Team and have put team members on standby for possible deployment to affected areas. This could be a very serious disaster in multiple countries and our staff are prepared to respond.”

The USGS website with a map of the earthquake can be found here.

U.S. stock market futures are decidedly lower from yesterday's levels, set to signal a red close for U.S. trading. The Hang Seng index is down over 1%. The USD/JPY is over 0.8% lower. The DJ Stoxx 600 is down over 0.8%. The FTSE 100 is over 0.5% lower. The XETRA DAX exchange is over 1% lower. The Swiss Re is trading over 50 points lower, or -5.5% lower than yesterday's levels. The EUR/YEN is over 1% lower than yesterday's close.