Stocks across Asia fell Tuesday as investors focused on the prospect of higher U.S. interest rates, with Taiwan, Japan and Hong Kong falling by more than 1% each.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index tumbled 360.89 points, or 1.8%, to 20,096.30.
Japan’s benchmark saw its sharpest percentage loss since April 30, as the dollar gave up much of its recent gains against the yen overnight.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index plummeted 326.76 points, or 1.2%, to 26,989.52.
The U.S. dollar pushed as low as 124.14 yen during Asia trade Tuesday, compared with ¥124.48 late Monday in New York. The yen had been at a 13-year high just last Friday at ¥125.85 against the dollar. A strong local currency against the dollar tends to hurt Japanese exporters.
But investors in the region were mostly weighing scenarios of central bank tightening in the coming months, which had also sent U.S. stocks lower Monday.
CHINA
The Shanghai CSI 300 descended 36.29 points, or 0.7%, to 5,317/46,
In China, stocks slipped after data showed China’s consumer price inflation grew at an annualized 1.2% in May, just below an expected 1.3%.
Investors in China await MSCI Inc.’s decision Tuesday in New York on whether it will add domestic stocks to its emerging markets index, widely tracked by global investors. While most investors don’t expect the index provider to add domestic shares at this point, the prospect of an addition in coming years has drawn investor attention toward China’s market.
In other markets
In Korea, the Kospi index dipped 1.16 points to 2,064.03
In Taiwan, the Taiex stumbled 176.56 points, or 1.9%, to 9,191.87
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index lost 25.20 points, or 0.8%, to 3,295.13
The NZX 50 lost 23.70 points, or 0.4%, to 5,862.11
The ASX 200 Index returned from holiday to drop 27.15 points, or 0.5%, to 5,471.31.
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