European stocks declined on Tuesday as global investors remain attuned to the policy direction of the Federal Reserve. They are also waiting for the corporate earnings season.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 declined 1.2% by late morning, with tech and travel stocks each dropping 2.2% to lead losses.
In terms of individual share price movement, Auto1 Group dropped more than 6%. Shares of German company declined due to its fourth-quarter earnings report.
In the meantime, corporate earnings are beginning to roll in for the fourth quarter of 2021. This week world-famous companies such as Goldman Sachs, Netflix, and others will release their reports.
Stocks in Asia-Pacific
Stocks in Asia-Pacific were mixed on Tuesday. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dropped 0.27% to end its trading day at 28,257.25. The Topix index fell 0.42% to close at 1,978.38.
The country’s central bank left its short-term interest rate unchanged at -0.1% in line with market expectations. The Bank of Japan said it will purchase a necessary amount of the government bonds such that the 10-year JGB yields will remain at around 0%.
The central bank also raised its near-term inflation expectations. Notably, for the fiscal year which start in April, the inflation forecast was raised from an earlier estimate of 0.9% to 1.1%. Also, for fiscal 2023, inflation expectation was raised from 1% to 1.1%. However, those figures remain below the Bank of Japan’s inflation target of 2%.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index dropped 0.43% to 24,112.78. The tech-focused Hang Seng Tech index fell 0.45% to 5,698.54.
Australia’s ASX 200 declined 0.11% to 7,408.80 as the heavily weighted financials subindex dropped 0.29%.
In South Korea, the Kospi fell 0.89% to close at 2,864.24. The Kosdaq plunged 1.46% to 943.94.
Mainland Chinese stocks defied the broadly downward trend. The Shanghai Composite gained 0.8% to 3,569.91 and the Shenzhen component advanced 0.19% to 14,391.39.
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