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Shares in Hong Kong and Japan fall as Asia-Pacific markets fall on Wall Street volatility

Shares in Hong Kong and Japan fall as Asia-Pacific markets fall on Wall Street volatility

Shares in Japan and Hong Kong fell 2% as Asia-Pacific markets fell on Tuesday following a volatile overnight session on Wall Street. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell nearly 2% as auto and technology shares largely fell, while Topix fell 1.83%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 2% before recovering slightly and falling 1.42%. The ASX 200 index pared some of its losses after falling nearly 3% as banks, miners and oil stocks all tumbled. Bank stocks like ANZ lost nearly 4%, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia and National Australia Bank fell about 3%. Oil stockpiles plunged as Santos fell 5.17%, Beach Energy fell 7.6% and Woodwide Petroleum fell 4.74%.
Inflation in Australia rose 1.3% in the fourth quarter and 3.5% on the year, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said. Prices rose at their fastest annual rate since 2014, Reuters reported. In South Korea, the Kospi also fell about 2.53% mainland Chinese stocks also fell. The Shanghai Composite Index lost nearly 1% and the Shenzhen component fell 1.17%.

South Korea’s economy grew 1.1% in the fourth quarter of 2021 from the previous quarter, the Bank of Korea said in a press release on Tuesday. According to Reuters, for the full year, the country’s GDP will grow 4% in 2021, the fastest in 11 years.

Meanwhile, Singapore’s central bank tightened monetary policy on Tuesday in response to rising prices as global demand recovered and supply-side disruptions continued. The Monetary Authority of Singapore uses the exchange rate to manage its policy and has stated that it will slightly increase the rate judging the scope of its policy. The Singapore dollar strengthened against the US dollar to trade at 1.3436, while the Straits Times index fell 1.1%.

On the earnings front, Hyundai Motors is expected to report fourth-quarter results. US markets were volatile on Monday. Stocks sold off earlier in the session, but rallied as investors bought into battered tech stocks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose after losing 1,115 points at one point, to close 99.13 points, or 0.3% higher at 34,364.50, up for the first day of September The S&P 500 index closed up 99.13 points, or 0.3%. in the green after briefly touching the correction zone earlier in the session, down more than 10% from the Jan 3 all-time high close. It ended up 0.3% at 4,410.13.

The Nasdaq Composite Index turned positive after falling to a session low of 4.9, up 0.6 percent to 13,855.13. “The recent sell-off in equities reflects concerns about Fed tightening at a time when economic momentum is slowing. However, after eight consecutive days of selling and a 10% drop year-to-date, more attractive valuations, particularly for tech stocks, have attracted bargain hunters,” said Kathy Lien, investor second of 60 wrote in a note Tuesday.

Oil prices also fell about 2% in a day on Fed tightening expectations. The Federal Open Market Committee will meet on Tuesday and Wednesday to decide next steps for US monetary policy. US crude oil rose 0.56% to $83.78 a barrel and Brent crude futures rose 0.74% to $86.91.