Shares in the Asian markets were mostly lower on Tuesday after a good start to the week, tracking overnight drops on Wall Street, the dollar lingered below last week’s record, and as investors also weighed on minutes from a meeting of Australia’s central bank.
After a holiday on Monday, Japanese markets resumed trading Tuesday, with the Nikkei 225 up 0.72% and the Topix index up 0.52% as of 9.30 hrs. local time in Thailand.
South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.32%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.71%.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 dropped by 0.17%.
Mainland China markets, meanwhile, saw a gain, with the Shanghai Composite picking up 0.10%.
Following an early session of gains, the major U.S. stock indexes reversed course and ended the day negative.
The decline brought the Dow Jones Industrial Average down by 0.69%, or 215.65 points, to 31,072.61. The S&P 500 slipped 0.84% to 3,830.85. The Nasdaq Composite lost 0.81% to 11,360.05.
Reports that Apple intends to reduce hiring and expenditure growth next year weighed on U.S. equities markets, which closed lower overnight. This had a negative impact on Asian tech stocks including Alibaba, Samsung, and Nintendo.
Apple, the world’s leading technology company, said on Monday that it plans tol reduce recruiting and spending growth in several departments next year. According to those in the know, this is being done to prepare for a probable economic downturn.
According to Reuters, markets anticipate a significant 75 basis point interest rate hike at the U.S. Federal Reserve’s meeting next week, moving away from a flirtation with the possibility of a massive 100 basis point rise, while market pricing still implies a 30% chance, as indicated by the CME’s Fedwatch tool.
