Investing.com – Asian stock markets were broadly lower on Tuesday, as market sentiment was weighed by ongoing concerns over Japan’s deepening nuclear crisis.
During late Asian trade, South Korea's Kospi Composite climbed 0.69%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index tumbled 1.06%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index remained closed for a national holiday.
Officials at Tokyo Electric Power Company, operator of the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, said that the company started dumping radioactive water from the stricken nuclear station into the Pacific Ocean in an effort to prevent even more dangerous material from being released.
TEPCO saw shares plunge 18.1% to JPY362, well below the all-time closing low of JPY393, further adding to speculation the company would be nationalized.
Meanwhile, the world’s largest automaker Toyota saw shares slump 2.4% after it said it may have to temporarily shut down all of its North American factories. Shares in rival Honda dropped 2.5%, while Nissan sank 2.2%.
Shares in chip-makers performed poorly amid lingering concerns over supply-chain problems in the wake of last month’s earthquake. Elpida, the world’s third largest chip maker tumbled 4.2%, while Tokyo electron saw shares fall 2.8%.
Elsewhere, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 0.26% higher as shares in copper producer Equinox Minerals added to its prior session gains, climbing 2% after China-based Minmetal Resources launched a USD6.5 billion takeover-bid offer for the copper miner on Monday.
Earlier in the day, the Reserve Bank of Australia kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 4.75%, broadly in line with expectations.
The outlook for European equity markets, meanwhile, was downbeat. The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a decline of 0.15%, France’s CAC 40 futures shed 0.16%, the FTSE 100 futures slipped 0.23%, while Germany's DAX futures indicated a drop of 0.25%.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to publish official data on retail sales. Meanwhile, the U.S. was to publish data on service sector growth while the Fed was to publish the minutes of its most recent policy setting meeting.
During late Asian trade, South Korea's Kospi Composite climbed 0.69%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index tumbled 1.06%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index remained closed for a national holiday.
Officials at Tokyo Electric Power Company, operator of the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, said that the company started dumping radioactive water from the stricken nuclear station into the Pacific Ocean in an effort to prevent even more dangerous material from being released.
TEPCO saw shares plunge 18.1% to JPY362, well below the all-time closing low of JPY393, further adding to speculation the company would be nationalized.
Meanwhile, the world’s largest automaker Toyota saw shares slump 2.4% after it said it may have to temporarily shut down all of its North American factories. Shares in rival Honda dropped 2.5%, while Nissan sank 2.2%.
Shares in chip-makers performed poorly amid lingering concerns over supply-chain problems in the wake of last month’s earthquake. Elpida, the world’s third largest chip maker tumbled 4.2%, while Tokyo electron saw shares fall 2.8%.
Elsewhere, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 0.26% higher as shares in copper producer Equinox Minerals added to its prior session gains, climbing 2% after China-based Minmetal Resources launched a USD6.5 billion takeover-bid offer for the copper miner on Monday.
Earlier in the day, the Reserve Bank of Australia kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 4.75%, broadly in line with expectations.
The outlook for European equity markets, meanwhile, was downbeat. The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a decline of 0.15%, France’s CAC 40 futures shed 0.16%, the FTSE 100 futures slipped 0.23%, while Germany's DAX futures indicated a drop of 0.25%.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to publish official data on retail sales. Meanwhile, the U.S. was to publish data on service sector growth while the Fed was to publish the minutes of its most recent policy setting meeting.