- 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
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Markets mostly down ahead of key US data
Most Asian and European markets were down Tuesday, after a weak lead from Wall Street and with all eyes on key US inflation data due later in the trading day.
Tokyo closed down by nearly two percent, though Hong Kong was up more than one percent by the end of trade.
Shanghai also posted gains, while Seoul, Taipei, Sydney and Singapore were all in the red. Jakarta eked out small gains.
In Europe, London dipped 0.8 percent at the open, while Paris and Frankfurt were both down by just under two percent.
This followed a weak Monday performance 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 interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.
The government is set to release the US consumer price index (CPI) 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.
"It's not really about the level of inflation anymore, as it has been well broadcast that CPI is hotter than hot," said Matt Simpson, senior market analyst at City Index. "The big question is how long it takes to come back down and whether the Fed will tip the US into a recession in doing so."
"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.
US Treasuries declined, taking the 10-year yield past 2.80 percent.
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.
"The Chinese government gave out its first online game approvals in months," noted Jeffrey Halley, senior markets analyst at OANDA, in relation to the gains in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
The approvals were for the first batch of new video game licences since July, a step that could ease some of the worst concerns about Beijing's gaming-sector curbs.
But "sentiment hasn't been helped by the latest Covid extended lockdown measures being initiated by Chinese authorities in Shanghai in what is likely to be a fruitless attempt to stem the spread of the more contagious Omicron variant", said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK.
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.
Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management attributed the rise to a partial lifting of restrictions in Shanghai "easing concerns around Chinese oil demand".
He added: "Sort of the light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel trade, but oil bulls have fingers crossed that light isn't a Chinese Covid freight train at the other end of the tunnel."
- Key figures around 0810 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.81 percent at 26,334.98 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.52 percent at 21,319.13 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.46 percent at 3,213.33 (close)
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.81 percent at 7,556.88
Brent North Sea crude: UP 2.42 percent at $100.86 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.53 percent at $96.68 per barrel
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0864 from $1.0871
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3006 from $1.3021
Euro/pound: UP at 83.53 pence from 83.49 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 125.61 yen from 125.40
New York - Dow: DOWN 1.19 percent at 34,308.08 (close)
-- Bloomberg News contributed to this report --
A.Zimmermann--CPN