HONG KONG: Asian stocks were mixed in muted Tuesday morning trade amid a lack of fresh news to buoy market sentiments following an overnight slide on Wall Street.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was barely unchanged, inching down 0.04 percent to 19,896.94 in the morning session. Investors were looking to sell after the index reached the psychologically key 20,000 mark momentarily last week. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.2 percent to 5,950.80. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.3 percent to 2,105.46. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.9 percent to 27,770.14.
Investors have their eyes on economic growth data on China, set to be released later in the week. Monday’s trade data, showing a contraction by a bigger margin than expected, added to speculation of more stimulus measures.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 80.61 points, or 0.5 percent, to close at 17,977.04. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index slipped 9.63 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,092.43. The Nasdaq lost 7.73 points, or 0.2 percent, to 4,988.25.
Benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 51 cents to $52.42 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, a benchmark for many oils imported by U.S. refineries, gained 47 cents to $59.51 a barrel.
The dollar slipped to 119.82 from 120.32 yen. The euro fell to $1.0578 from $1.0597.
