- Stock markets diverge, oil gains after China rebounds
- World can't 'waste time' trading climate change blame: COP29 hosts
- South Korean same-sex couples make push for marriage equality
- Mumbai declares day of mourning for Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- 7-Eleven owner restructures to fight takeover
- Sri Lanka recovering faster than expected: World Bank
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as most markets track Wall St record
- Uniqlo owner reports record annual earnings
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as markets track Wall St record
- Indonesia biomass drive threatens key forests: report
- Mumbai mourns Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- China opens $71 bn 'swap facility' to boost markets
- Asian markets track Wall St record as Hong Kong, Shanghai stabilise
- 'Denying my potential': women at Japan's top university call out gender imbalance
- China's central bank says opens up $70.6 bn in liquidity to boost market
- Youth facing unprecedented wave of violence, UN envoy warns
- 'A casino in every kitchen': Brazil's online gambling craze
- Nobel chemistry winner sees engineered proteins solving tough problems
- Discord seen as online home for renegades
- US forecasts severe solar storm starting Thursday
- Ratan Tata: Indian mogul who built a global powerhouse
- One dead as storm Kirk tears through Spain, Portugal, France
- Indian business titan Ratan Tata dead at 86
- Fed minutes highlight divisions over rate cut decision
- Steve McQueen debuts new WWII film at London festival
- Nobel winners hope protein work will spur 'incredible' breakthroughs
- What are proteins again? Nobel-winning chemistry explained
- AI steps into science limelight with Nobel wins
- Overshooting 1.5C risks 'irreversible' climate impact: study
- Demis Hassabis, from chess prodigy to Nobel-winning AI pioneer
- Global stocks diverge as Chinese shares tumble
- Time runs out in Florida to flee Hurricane Milton
- Chad issues warning ahead of more devastating floods
- Creator's death no bar to new 'Dragon Ball' products
- Chinese stocks tumble on lack of fresh stimulus
- Trio wins chemistry Nobel for protein design, prediction
- Braving war: Lebanon's 'badass' airline defies odds
- US weighs Google breakup in landmark trial
- Chinese stocks tumble on stimulus upset, Asia tracks Wall St higher
- 7-Eleven owner confirms new takeover offer from Couche-Tard
- A US climate scientist sees hurricane Helene's devastation firsthand
- Can carbon credits help close coal plants?
- Boeing suspends negotiations with striking workers
- 7-Eleven owner's shares spike on report of new buyout offer
- Your 'local everything': what 7-Eleven buyout battle means for Japan
- AI-aided research, new materials eyed for Nobel Chemistry Prize
- The US economy is solid: Why are voters gloomy?
- Scientists sound AI alarm after winning physics Nobel
- Nobel-winning physicist 'unnerved' by AI technology he helped create
- Trump secretly sent Covid tests to Putin: Bob Woodward book
Asian markets rebound from Fed sell-off but traders still uneasy
Asian markets squeezed out gains Tuesday, giving investors some relief from a recent sell-off fuelled by worries that US interest rates will go higher than feared following last week's blockbuster jobs report.
January's rally has come to a halt this month as investors contemplate an extended period of high borrowing costs aimed at bringing down inflation from multi-decade highs.
While there are signs that price rises are slowing, and the Federal Reserve acknowledged progress in its battle last week, the employment data Friday was seen as a body blow for many.
The reading, which showed more than half a million new posts created in January, led to speculation the Fed could have to unveil even more rate hikes this year, while any chance of a cut before 2024 all but evaporated.
Focus is now on a planned speech later in the day by central bank boss Jerome Powell, with observers looking for any change from his less hawkish comments after last week's policy decision.
"Powell remains a big wild card every time he speaks," said Chris Senyek at Wolfe Research. "Investors will be looking to see if he 'walks back' his very dovish tone from last Wednesday, particularly with respect to financial conditions and the US 'disinflationary process'. We still believe that the Fed will be 'higher for longer'."
Atlanta Fed president Raphael Bostic warned Monday that if the economy continues to show strength, "it'll probably mean we have to do a little more work".
He told Bloomberg News: "I would expect that that would translate into us raising interest rates more than I have projected right now."
He said he had seen rates topping out at 5.1 percent but added that the final figure could be even higher.
Still, while all three main indexes on Wall Street ended in the red again, Asia enjoyed some positivity.
Hong Kong rose one percent, while Tokyo, Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei and Jakarta also enjoyed a leg up.
Observers were also keeping tabs on developments after the United States shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon that had been floating over the country for several days.
Officials are recovering debris from the Atlantic for analysis by intelligence experts and there is no plan to give the remains back to Beijing, officials said Monday.
China, however, has hit out at the move, saying the balloon was an errant weather observation aircraft with no military purpose.
The incident dealt a blow to already tense relations, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday scrapping a planned rare trip to Beijing designed to contain rising tensions.
"Much of Wall Street is getting nervous over US-China tensions," said OANDA's Edward Moya.
"A few months ago, China was not investable. China was becoming a favorite bet with the great reopening, but now rising tensions and possible blacklisting, investors are heading to the sidelines."
- Key figures around 0230 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.2 percent at 27,754.36 (break)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.0 percent at 21,441.50
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,242.93
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 132.33 yen from 132.65 yen on Monday
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0738 from $1.0728
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2049 from $1.2020
Euro/pound: DOWN at 89.12 pence from 89.22 pence
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.9 percent at $74.76 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.8 percent at $81.66 per barrel
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 33,891.02 (close)
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.8 percent at 7,836.71 (close)
Ng.A.Adebayo--CPN