After opening the week with sharp losses in response to hawkish comments made by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at Jackson Hole, shares in Asian and Pacific markets were mixed on Tuesday.
As of 9:34 a.m. Thai time, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.91% and the Kospi in South Korea rose 0.47%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.50% higher.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 1.75% and the Shanghai Composite in mainland China lost 0.34%.
The S&P 500 fell 0.67% overnight to 4,030.61, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.02% to 12,017.67.
Dow Industrials dropped 184.41 points, or 0.57%, to 32,098.99. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped around 300 points earlier in the session before slightly rising later.
According to official data released on Tuesday, the unemployment rate in Japan was at 2.6% in July, in line with expectations and flat for the third consecutive month.
Despite a strong U.S. dollar and a bleak outlook for U.S. GDP, oil prices finished up more than 4% on Monday, extending their weekly rise. This was due to the prospect of OPEC+ supply cutbacks and the crisis in Libya.
Brent crude ended the day up $4.10, or 4.1%, at $105.09 a barrel, following a 4.4% weekly increase. After rising 2.5% last week, the price of U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil rose $3.95, or 4.2%, to $ 97.01.
