Asia-Pacific markets traded lower on Tuesday, mirroring Wall Street losses, after United States President Donald Trump announced the dismissal of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.
Trump revealed the move late Monday via a letter posted on his Truth Social platform, in what marks an unprecedented step and a major escalation of his criticism of the U.S. central bank.
The decision came as investors also digested the outcome of talks between the South Korean and U.S. presidents, who continued discussions on the trade deal framework unveiled last month.
The arrangement included a 15% tariff on South Korean exports to the United States.
By 11:35 am AEST (1:35 am GMT), Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.4%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 shed 1.1%, and South Korea’s Kospi 200 dropped 0.8%.
Meanwhile, minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s August meeting pointed to a more accommodative policy stance:
"Members agreed that – based on what they knew at the time of the meeting – preserving full employment while bringing inflation sustainably back to the midpoint of the target range appeared likely to require some further reduction in the cash rate over the coming year. They also agreed that it was important for the pace of decline in the cash rate to be determined by the incoming data on a meeting-by-meeting basis."
On Wall Street on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.8% from a record close, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite eased 0.2%.
In commodities, Brent crude gained 0.7% to US$68.22 per barrel, touching multiweek highs, while spot gold edged down 0.2% to US$3,365.72 per ounce.
Chinese equities bucked the regional trend, with the Shanghai Composite rising 1.5% to 3,883.6 — its highest close since March 2008 — and the CSI 300 climbing 2.1% to 4,469.2.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced 1.9% to a four-year high of 25,829.2, while India’s BSE Sensex added 0.4% to 81,635.9.
In Europe, markets ended lower. The DAX slipped 0.4% to 24,273.1, the CAC 40 tumbled 1.6% to 7,843.0, while London’s FTSE 100 remained closed for a public holiday.
