Asia-Pacific shares declined on Tuesday, with major indexes in China and South Korea declining at least 1%.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong slumped 1.43% to settle at 24,962.59.
China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle’s shares surged 4.56%. The rise came after the company vowed on Monday to start producing electric vehicles next year. As far as we know, the firm is linked to debt-laden developer Evergrande. Evergrande has already missed multiple coupon payments for its bonds in recent weeks.
Additionally, mainland Chinese stocks closed lower. The Shanghai Composite fell by 1.25% to close to 3,546.94, whereas the Shenzhen component sank 1.616% to 14,135.38.
Kospi in South Korea declined by 1.35% to settle at 2,916.38. Nikkei 225 in Japan fell 0.94% to close at 28,230.61. Meanwhile, the Topix index dropped 0.7% to end the trading day at 1,982.68.
Moreover, Australian stocks erased earlier increases as the S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.26% to 7,280.70.
Furthermore, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares, excluding Japan, slipped 1.08%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 250.19 points to close to 34,496.06
Oil prices rose in the Asia trading hours, adding to gains after a recent boost above $80. International benchmark Brent crude futures gained 0.24% to close to $83.85 per barrel. Meanwhile, U.S. crude futures boosted 0.11% to $80.61 per barrel.
According to an economist at National Australia Bank, Tapas Strickland, the growth in energy prices is fuelling concerns that the transitory lift in inflation may be longer-lasting.
The recent rise in oil prices comes as a recovery in global demand contributed to power shortages in major economies such as China. Last week, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) also opted against a supply increase. It further fuelled the oil price rally.
Furthermore, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 250.19 points to close to 34,496.06. Additionally, the S&P 500 fell 0.69% to 4,361.19, whereas the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.64% to settle at 14,486.20.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the dollar against its peers, was at 94.335 after a recent recovery from below 94.2.
The safe-haven currency, the Japanese yen, traded at 113.26 per dollar after yesterday’s decline from below 112.8 against the dollar. The risk-sensitive Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7355, above levels about $0.73 hit earlier in the trading week.
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