Asian markets settled mostly lower on Tuesday following a mixed Wall Street overnight as investors were cautiously awaiting earnings reports from tech giants Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet and Meta Platforms this week. Market sentiments weakened further ahead of a slew of central bank meetings in the coming days. Chinese shares fell on concerns over sustainability of economic recovery. Seoul shares declined on fears of possible US Fed rate hikes. Although, data showed South Korea’s GDP grew 0.3% during January-March, rebounding from a 0.4% contraction in the final quarter of 2022. Japanese shares gained marginally as new Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda vowed to keep the country’s interest rates low for now, but signalled the chance of rising interest rates if wage growth and inflation accelerate faster than expected.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,264.87 | -10.54 | -0.32 |
Hang Seng | 19,617.88 | -342.06 | -1.74 |
Jakarta Composite | -- | -- | -- |
KLSE Composite | 1,425.19 | 3.08 | 0.22 |
Nikkei 225 | 28,620.07 | 26.55 | 0.09 |
Straits Times | 3,296.56 | -27.99 | -0.85 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,489.02 | -34.48 | -1.39 |
Taiwan Weighted | 15,370.73 | -256.14 | -1.67 |
