Investing.com – Asian stocks were lower in morning trade on Tuesday, with technology shares leading the drop amid reports of a Facebook data breach.
Investors’ focus now turns to the first U.S. interest rate decision under new Fed chair Jerome Powell. The Federal Open Market Committee (FMOC) begins meeting later in the day and would issue a statement on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, reports suggested that the Trump administration is expected to announce fresh tariffs of up to $60 billion on Chinese imports by Friday, targeting technology.
Overnight, the technology-laden NASDAQ Composite lost 1.8%, while the S&P 500 and the Dow both fell 1.4%.
In China, Premier Li Keqiang's comments on Tuesday were in focus as he said there would be no winners from any trade wars, adding that he hopes both China and the U.S. could remain "calm".
Li further added that he hopes the U.S. would consider easing restrictions on exports of high-tech products to China. The country is "fully confident" to achieve its 2018 economic targets, Li noted. It was previously reported that China aims to expand its economy by around 6.5% this year.
Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping said China would expand reform and opening while stepping up efforts to solve environmental problems.
The Shanghai Composite slipped 0.1% while Shenzhen Component fell 0.3% by 2:00AM ET (06:00 GMT).
Japan's Nikkei dropped 0.6% at the close. The country's trade minister Hiroshige Seko said earlier in the day that there was a “high possibility” the country would be exempted from U.S. tariffs as he noted Japanese steel and aluminum products were “irreplaceable” to the U.S. industry.
Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was 0.2% lower. Index heavyweight Tencent is due to report earnings after the close on Wednesday. A report by Goldman Sachs raised some eye brows as it hiked its 12-month price target on Tencent by 22% despite recent global selloff in technology shares.
Down under, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.4% at the close. The mining sector underperformed after a fall in the iron ore price. BHP Billiton Ltd (AX:BHP) and Rio Tinto Ltd (AX:RIO) were both down around 2%.