Stocks in Asia were mostly lower on Tuesday as fresh concerns over a slowing Chinese economy and renewed trade tensions weighed on investor sentiment.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 poked ahead 15.64 points, or 0.1%, to 20,664.64, as shares of Japanese conglomerate Softbank Group bounced 1.5%.
The Japanese yen, a safe-haven currency, traded at 109.26 against the U.S. dollar after touching lows around 109.5 yesterday.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index shed 45.64 points, or 0.2%, to 27,531.68
In Australia, the heavily weighted financial sub-index declined 1.7% as shares of Australia’s so-called Big Four banks saw losses. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group fell 2.3%, Commonwealth Bank of Australia slipped 1.7%, Westpac shed 2.3% while National Australia Bank declined 1.9%.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7167 U.S. after seeing an earlier low of $0.7136.
CHINA
Mainland Chinese markets slipped as investors kept an eye on Beijing’s ongoing trade war with Washington.
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 rebounded 10.19 points, or 0.3%, to 3,193.97
The U.S. Department of Justice filed filed criminal charges on Monday to officially request the extradition of Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei.
The Justice Department also announced charges Monday against Huawei for allegedly stealing trade secrets from T-Mobile. The charges stem from a civil trade secrets lawsuit filed by T-Mobile in 2014 over a robot called “Tappy,” which was used in testing smartphones.
Meng, who is also the daughter of Huawei’s founder and president Ren Zhengfei, was arrested on Dec. 1 in Vancouver. Her arrest sparked a series of tense exchanges between China and Canada over the possibility that she could be transferred to the U.S.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index slipped 11.81 points, or 0.4%, to 3,187.69
In Korea, the Kospi index recovered 6.06 points, or 0.3%, to 2,183.36
In Taiwan, the Taiex index dropped 81.74 points, or 0.8%, to 9,931.59
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 slumped 108.14 points, or 1.2%, to 9,006.38
In Australia, markets returned after a long weekend, the ASX 200 losing 31.44 points, or 0.5%, 5,874.16
