SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Tuesday trade, as investors monitored technology stocks regionally after their counterparts declined overnight on Wall Street.
Mainland Chinese stocks slipped as the Shanghai composite traded below the flatline while the Shenzhen component dipped 0.388%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.26%.
South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.43% in morning trade. Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.47% higher.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded little changed.
On the earnings front, HSBC is set to report its full-year results on Tuesday. Reuters reported Monday, citing a source familiar with the matter, that HSBC is set to withdraw from U.S. retail banking. Ahead of that earnings release, shares of HSBC in Hong Kong were up more than 2%.
Markets in Japan are closed on Tuesday for a holiday.
Technology shares on watch
Technology shares in Asia slipped in Tuesday morning trade, with Hong Kong-listed shares of Alibaba down 1.12%, Xiaomi dropped 2.07% and Kuaishou plunging 5.08%. South Korea’s LG Electronics fell about 4%, while Samsung Electronics declined 0.61%.
The moves came after tech shares stateside tumbled overnight — the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.46% to close at 13,533.05, with Big Tech stocks such as Apple, Amazon and Microsoft all falling at least 2%.
The S&P 500 declined 0.8% to end its trading day on Wall Street at 3,876.50. The Dow Jones Industrial Average bucked the overall trend as it edged 27.37 points higher to close at 31,521.69.
Oil prices rise
Oil prices were higher in the morning of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures up 1.36% to $66.13 per barrel. U.S. crude futures gained 1.26% to $62.48 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 89.985 as it slipped below the 90 level.
The Japanese yen traded at 104.95 per dollar, stronger than levels above 105.6 against the greenback seen yesterday. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7931, largely holding on to gains following its surge late last week from around $0.777.
Source: CNBC