European as well as Asian Stocks Suffered Losses

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.