Asia report: Markets mixed after Wall Street tech slump

Markets in Asia finished mixed on Tuesday, with investors reacting to a small sell-off overnight on Wall Street, and looked forward to the outcome of the Fed’s two-day policy meeting in the US.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was down 0.47% at 21,380.97, as the yen weakened 0.27% against the dollar to last trade at JPY 106.39.

It was the third negative session in a row for the Tokyo benchmark, amid an ongoing political scandal denting the popularity of prime minister Shinzo Abe.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite finished ahead 0.34% at at 3,290.46, and the smaller, technology-heavy Shenzhen Composite was up 0.23% to 1,872.33.

South Korea’s Kospi added 0.42% to 2,485.52, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong eked out gains of 0.11% to 31,549.93.

Big-name technology plays were mixed in Seoul, after a slump for their US peers overnight, although Samsung Electronics posted gains of 0.91%.

Carmakers and manufacturers were also on the front foot on the Korean peninsula.

Steel producers were another mixed sector, after reports the country was requesting an exemption from US president Donald Trump’s recently-announced punitive metals tariffs.

Hyundai Steel was ahead 1.18%, while Posco lost 0.73%.

Sentiment across the region was hurt somewhat by a red Monday session on Wall Street, led by the tech-heavy Nasdaq, as Facebook sank 6.9% amid a data release scandal involving shadowy electioneering firm Cambridge Analytica.

Reports over the weekend and on Monday suggested Cambridge Analytica accessed the data of 50 million Facebook users - many of them without permission - and used it to target controversial campaign content, against Facebook’s own terms of service.

The fragility of the Trump administration, and its continued efforts to implement punitive trade measures, was also still atop investor minds according to analysts.

“Amid ongoing concerns with regards to the US administration as well as the potential for heightened global trade tensions, expect investor sentiment to remain fragile intraday and ahead of the FOMC,” noted OCBC Bank economist Emmanuel Ng.

Oil prices were higher, with Brent crude last up 1.77% at $67.24 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate ahead 1.86% at $63.31.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.39% at 5,936.40, led lower by the materials subindex, which fell 1.35%.

The hefty financials subindex managed to keep its head above water, finishing the day 0.05% in the black.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 was down 0.06% at 8,487.15, led lower by retirement property firm Arvida Group, which lost 2.4%.

Both of the down under dollars were weaker against the greenback, with the Aussie last off 0.17% at AUD 1.2978 and the Kiwi retreating 0.55% to NZD 1.3881.