Asian stocks mixed after big gains on Wall Street
Asian markets mostly opened higher Tuesday, but pared back their gains to trade mixed as investors await more news on US-China trade relations and a decision from the Federal Reserve later this week.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 0.5% at the open. It retreated slightly in the afternoon, though was still positive. The index is trading at its highest level in about a year.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.5% early, too, but reversed that trend and was last trading down 0.5%.
South Korea’s Kospi also opened higher, but was flat-to-negative late in the day. China’s Shanghai Composite was the worst performer, declining 0.6% by the afternoon.
Overnight, the S&P 500 set a new closing record on Wall Street. The Dow and the Nasdaq Composite also closed higher but fell just short of setting a new records.
Markets rose Monday on hopes for improvement in the US-China trade relationship. Stocks trended upward last week after the Office of the US Trade Representative said that the world’s two largest economies had made headway in finalizing a “phase one” trade agreement.
On Monday during US hours, President Donald Trump told reporters that the United States is ahead of schedule in terms of signing a trade deal.
Investors may also be looking to the Federal Reserve’s next monetary policy decision later this week. Chances of another quarter-percentage point interest rate cut stand at 94%, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. It would be the third rate cut this year.
