U.S. crude oil lingered below $30 a barrel, souring the outlook for Asian equities, as the pound slid amid a split in the U.K.’s ruling political party over whether Britain should leave the European Union. While some better-than-expected earnings bolstered Australia’s benchmark, shares in New Zealand fell and index futures from Japan to the Hong Kong signaled losses. U.S. equity futures also retreated as oil traded at $29.63 amid concern over the worldwide surplus. The pound slipped the most in a month against the dollar after London Mayor Boris Johnson, a popular and well-known political figure, said he’ll campaign for Britain’s exit from the EU in a June referendum. Gold maintained its drop as Australian government bonds fell. The abrupt turnaround in equity fortunes at the end of last week emphasized markets’ sensitivity to changes in sentiment, with MSCI’s global stock gauge snapping a five-day rebound, driven lower by […]