- US Fed Chair sees 'further disinflation' in economy
- Epic Games sues Google and Samsung over app store
- Officials see no shortages from likely US port strike
- UK families of Gaza hostages warn Lebanon attack 'takes focus away'
- Shares in Stellantis, Aston Martin skid on profit warnings
- Dali prints found in London garage sold at auction
- ECB chief backs bank mergers amid UniCredit, Commerzbank talk
- China stocks soar on stimulus, but US and Europe retreat
- 100 dead in storm Helene damage, flooding across US southeast
- China stocks soar on stimulus, Europe slides on automaker woes
- German antitrust watchdog steps up monitoring of Microsoft
- Nepal's urban poor count cost of 'nightmare' floods
- E.Guinea, Gabon clash at ICJ over oil-rich islands
- New blow for UK's Starmer as growth data disappoints
- China's top banks to tweak mortgage rates to boost housing market
- Muslim women break taboos navigating east London's waterways
- Nepal dam-building spree powers electric vehicle boom
- More than 60 dead from storm Helene as rescue, cleanup efforts grow
- Dozens missing, 9 dead in migrant boat wreck off Spanish Canaries
- Death toll from Hurricane John hits eight in Mexico
- Storm Helene's toll rises as rescue and cleanup efforts gain pace
- SpaceX launches mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding as cleanup begins
- SpaceX set to launch mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Boeing strike grinds on as latest talks fail to reach agreement
- Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election
- US ports brace for potential dockworkers strike
- Japan's speedy, spotless Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60
- US hurricane deaths rise to 44, fears of more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Global stocks mostly rise, cheering Beijing stimulus
- Europe en route for Moon with new simulator, says astronaut Pesquet
- Fireworks forecast if comet survives risky Sun flypast
- Argentina judge orders dictionary to delete pejorative definition of 'Jewish'
- Global stocks rise on rate hopes, Beijing stimulus
- S.African woman turns 118, among the oldest in the world
- UK clears $4 bn AI partnership between Amazon, Anthropic
- Barca fans barred from Champions League away game over racist banner
- Chinese stocks extend surge, Europe higher on Beijing stimulus
- Pope says Church must 'seek forgiveness' for child sexual abuse
- China caps week of 'bazooka' stimulus for ailing economy with rate cut
- Cuts, cash, credit: China bids to jumpstart flagging economy
- France's debt weighs heavier ahead of budget debate
- Iran treads carefully, backing Hezbollah while avoiding war
- Return to sender: waste stranded at sea stirs toxic dispute
- 'Broken' news industry faces uncertain future
- On remote Greek island, migratory birds offer climate clues
- Taken from mother by nuns, victim seeks answers as pope visits Belgium
- China cuts amount banks hold in reserve to boost lending
- Hong Kong, Shanghai extend surge as China optimism boosts markets
RBGPF | 7.18% | 64.75 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.13% | 24.74 | $ | |
RYCEF | -0.14% | 7.03 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.72% | 24.9 | $ | |
SCS | 1.28% | 13.32 | $ | |
NGG | -0.1% | 69.66 | $ | |
GSK | 0.11% | 40.755 | $ | |
BCC | -1.23% | 139.775 | $ | |
RIO | -0.09% | 71.165 | $ | |
VOD | -0.85% | 10.005 | $ | |
JRI | 0.66% | 13.67 | $ | |
RELX | -0.38% | 47.38 | $ | |
AZN | 0.23% | 77.8 | $ | |
BCE | -1.19% | 34.775 | $ | |
BP | -0.11% | 31.385 | $ | |
BTI | -0.89% | 36.515 | $ |
Asia markets open lower ahead of key US data
Most Asian markets opened lower Tuesday, after a weak lead from Wall Street and with eyes on key US inflation data later in the day.
Tokyo was down more than one percent, while Hong Kong dipped slightly into the red.
There were small gains in Taipei and Jakarta.
This followed a weak lead Monday from Wall Street and Europe, with sentiment souring on flat UK economic growth and expectations for another strong US inflation report, which will likely bring aggressive US interest rate hikes.
The US S&P 500 fell 1.7 percent in the first trading day of the holiday-shortened week.
The government is set to release the US consumer price index for March on Tuesday, after inflation rose 7.9 percent over the 12 months to February, the biggest increase in 40 years.
Calling it the "Putin price hike" in reference to the economic ramifications of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters: "We expect March headline inflation to be extraordinarily elevated."
Economists are expecting annual US inflation to spike to nearly 8.5 percent, which would be the highest since late 1981.
"What we're faced with this year is stagflation," Kathryn Rooney Vera, head of global macro research at Bulltick LLC, told Bloomberg Television. "It's a very complicated environment that the Fed has found itself in" and the market is pricing in potentially 50 basis points of hikes at each of the next two policy meetings, she added.
"Risk assets are starting to respond to the relentless rise in yields with US equities falling sharply overnight as the US 10-year yield hit 2.79 percent, its highest in three years," said Tapas Strickland of National Australia Bank in a note.
All those concerns were weighing on the Tokyo market, Okasan Online Securities said in a note.
"Investors will then likely refrain from making major moves ahead of the release of the March US consumer prices data later in the day. The market will likely lose a sense of clear direction" until the data's release, the brokerage said.
Hong Kong's modest gains were fuelled by tech shares after China's approval of the first batch of new video game licences since July. That step may ease some of the worst concerns about Beijing's gaming-sector curbs.
Oil steadied, with Brent crude back just over $100 a barrel, after a tumble that erased most of the commodity's gains sparked by Russia's war in Ukraine. China's coronavirus outbreaks and mobility curbs are imperilling demand.
- Key figures around 0230 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.37 percent at 26,454.87 (break)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.09 percent at 21,188.38
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.03 percent at 3,168.00
Brent North Sea crude: UP 1.81 percent at $100.26 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.94 percent at $96.12 per barrel
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0871 from $1.0882
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3021 from $1.3029
Euro/pound: FLAT at 83.49 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 125.40 yen from 125.37 yen
New York - Dow: DOWN 1.19 percent at 34,308.08 (close)
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.67 percent at 7,618.31 (close)
-- Bloomberg News contributed to this report --
C.Peyronnet--CPN