Stocks in Asia were mixed on Tuesday as investors struggled with inflation worries following the OPEC+ group’s unexpected output cuts, while bond yields fell in response to weak data from the U.S. manufacturing sector.
As of 9.35 A.M. Bangkok time, the Australian S&P/ASX 200 dropped marginally.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.11%. South Korea’s Kospi was 0.40% up.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index lost 1.05%, while the Shanghai Composite in mainland China added 0.19%.
Overnight in the United States, two of the three major indices closed higher, despite news of a surprise oil output cut from OPEC+.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.98%, while the S&P 500 index rose 0.37%. The Nasdaq Composite, on the other hand, lost 0.27%.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, known as OPEC+, announced output target cuts on Sunday, driving up oil prices and complicating the inflation forecast. Brent crude rose 0.5% to $85.39 a barrel, continuing its roughly 6% increase from the previous day.
The market was also considering the economic data released on Monday, which showed that March manufacturing activity in the United States fell to its lowest level in nearly three years as new orders dropped and analysts predicted that activity would fall even further due to tighter credit conditions.
