Investing.com - Asian stocks traded mostly lower Tuesday on the back of some weak U.S. economic data and escalating tensions in the Middle East.
In Asian trading Tuesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 inched down 0.02% as the USD/JPY traded lower. The yen has been bid higher by traders due in part to the fact that Japan does not depend on external financing to service its deficits. Additionally, although Japan earlier this month reported a smaller-than-expected current account surplus, the country still has a surplus.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.24%, but the Shanghai Composite rose 0.17%. Earlier Tuesday, China’s Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao said the government does not need to stimulate the world’s second-largest economy.
Earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said industrial profits at Chinese industrial firms rose 11.6% last month following a 6.3% increase in June.
Shares of PetroChina, China’s largest oil company, were halted in Hong Kong and Shanghai pending an announcement.
Amid allegations that the Syrian government used chemical weapons against its own citizens, there is growing speculation that the U.S. and other Western nations are considering an armed response against the country.
While Syria is not a major oil producer, investors fear that the two-year-old civil war could spill over to affect oil supplies in nearby countries
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.1% due in part to increased volatility in the Australian dollar. New Zealand’s NZSE 50 lost 0.13%.
In U.S. economic news out Monday, the Commerce Department said durable goods orders fell 7.3% last month following a 3.9% rise in June. Economists expected a July decline of 4%. Non-defense durable goods orders fell 3.3%, the biggest monthly drop since February. Core capital goods orders rose by a revised 1.3% in June.
South Korea’s Kospi added 0.32% after the Bank of Korea said that South Korean Consumer Confidence remained unchanged at 105 last month. Analysts expected the reading of 105.
Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 0.38%. S&P 500 futures were off 0.16% a day after the benchmark U.S. index lost 0.40%.
In Asian trading Tuesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 inched down 0.02% as the USD/JPY traded lower. The yen has been bid higher by traders due in part to the fact that Japan does not depend on external financing to service its deficits. Additionally, although Japan earlier this month reported a smaller-than-expected current account surplus, the country still has a surplus.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.24%, but the Shanghai Composite rose 0.17%. Earlier Tuesday, China’s Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao said the government does not need to stimulate the world’s second-largest economy.
Earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said industrial profits at Chinese industrial firms rose 11.6% last month following a 6.3% increase in June.
Shares of PetroChina, China’s largest oil company, were halted in Hong Kong and Shanghai pending an announcement.
Amid allegations that the Syrian government used chemical weapons against its own citizens, there is growing speculation that the U.S. and other Western nations are considering an armed response against the country.
While Syria is not a major oil producer, investors fear that the two-year-old civil war could spill over to affect oil supplies in nearby countries
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.1% due in part to increased volatility in the Australian dollar. New Zealand’s NZSE 50 lost 0.13%.
In U.S. economic news out Monday, the Commerce Department said durable goods orders fell 7.3% last month following a 3.9% rise in June. Economists expected a July decline of 4%. Non-defense durable goods orders fell 3.3%, the biggest monthly drop since February. Core capital goods orders rose by a revised 1.3% in June.
South Korea’s Kospi added 0.32% after the Bank of Korea said that South Korean Consumer Confidence remained unchanged at 105 last month. Analysts expected the reading of 105.
Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 0.38%. S&P 500 futures were off 0.16% a day after the benchmark U.S. index lost 0.40%.