Asia-Pacific markets declined on Tuesday, echoing overnight losses on Wall Street as renewed pressure on technology and AI-linked firms weighed on sentiment, ahead of closely monitored Nvidia’s earnings and key United States economic data later this week.
By 11:40 am AEDT (12:40 am GMT), Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 1%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.8%, while South Korea’s Kospi 200 slipped 1.6%.
Among data releases, minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s latest meeting showed policymakers weighing the recent inflation spike, judging financial conditions as “slightly restrictive”, but acknowledging that this may no longer be the case.
The weak tone followed a negative session in the United States on Monday, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.2%, the S&P 500 declined 0.9% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.8%.
In commodities, Brent crude eased 0.3% to settle at US$64.20 a barrel, while spot gold declined 1% to US$4,045.86 per ounce.
In China, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.5% on Monday, pulling back from 10-year highs to close at 3,972.0. The CSI 300 lost 0.7% to 4,598.1.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.7% to 26,384.3, while India’s BSE Sensex bucked the regional trend, rising 0.5% to 84,951.0.
European equities also extended last week's declines, as the FTSE 100 edged 0.2% lower to 9,675.4, Germany’s DAX dropped 1.2% to 23,590.5, while France’s CAC 40 fell 0.6% to 8,119.0.
