Other Asia-Pacific markets
Shares in other Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Tuesday.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 declined 0.37% to close at 27,158.63 while the Topix index finished its trading day 0.19% lower at 1,791.22. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.57% to close at 2,990.57.
Shares in Australia were little changed on the day, with the S&P/ASX 200 largely flat at 6,681.90.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.74% higher.
Overnight stateside, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 382.59 points lower at 30,223.89. The S&P 500 slipped 1.5% on the day to 3,700.65. The Nasdaq Composite also slid 1.5%, ending its trading at 12,698.45. Monday marked the first negative start to a year for the Dow since 2016.
Developments surrounding the coronavirus pandemic likely continued weighing on investor sentiment on Tuesday. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently announced a national lockdown on England as it seeks to combat the new Covid variant.
In Asia, local media reports in Japan have said that the government is considering declaring a state of emergency for Tokyo and several neighboring areas as early as Thursday in an attempt to stem the spread of the virus.
Currencies and oil
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 89.751 after seeing an earlier low of 89.685.
The Japanese yen traded at 102.91 per dollar after weakening from levels below 102.8 against the greenback yesterday. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7716 following an earlier low of $0.7659.
Oil prices were lower in the afternoon of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures down 0.12% to $51.03 per barrel. U.S. crude futures were little changed at $47.61 per barrel.
Source: CNBC