Stocks in Asia were mostly up on Tuesday as trading resumed in most of the region’s markets after Monday’s Labor Day holiday. Potential interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve this week and JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s acquisition of First Republic Bank are both factors investors are weighing.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index was down 0.21% as of 9:18 AM Bangkok time, with financial stocks leading the decline before a rate-hike announcement by the Reserve Bank of Australia. The Nikkei 225 traded slightly higher.
The Kospi in South Korea gained 0.63% as inflation dropped to 3.7%, the lowest level in 14 months.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.1%. Mainland Chinese markets were closed for a holiday Tuesday.
Stocks closed lower overnight in the United States as JPMorgan Chase acquired First Republic Bank following the largest bank failure in the country since 2008. The deal took place during a pivotal week for Wall Street preceding the Federal Reserve’s meeting to determine critical interest rates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 0.14%, the S&P 500 lost 0.04%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped by 0.11%.
