Asia report: Most markets follow Wall Street lower

Asia-Pacific markets fell on Tuesday, following a dip in major US indexes during a mixed session on Wall Street.

Investors in the region faced a light day for domestic economic data.

“Asian stock markets are mostly down on Tuesday, reflecting the mixed signals from Wall Street overnight as bond yields rise due to diminished expectations of US Federal Reserve interest rate cuts,” said TickMill market analyst Patrick Munnelly.

“Traders have also taken some profits after the recent market rally.

“The uncertainty surrounding conflicts in the Middle East and Europe, as well as the US presidential election, is weighing on market sentiment.”

Munnelly noted that after the Fed's 50-basis-point rate cut last month, CME’s FedWatch tool currently indicated an 87% chance of just a 25-basis-point rate cut next month.

“Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan said she supported gradual rate cuts to help manage risks and achieve the goals.”

Most markets in the red after lacklustre Wall Street session

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dropped by 1.39% to 38,411.96, while the Topix fell 1.06% to 2,651.47.

Notable declines came from M3, which plunged 4.86%, followed by Mercari at 4.01% and TOTO down 3.94%.

China's markets bucked the regional trend, with the Shanghai Composite gaining 0.54% to 3,285.87 and the Shenzhen Component climbing 0.85% to 10,559.51.

Leading gains were Orient Group and Jiangsu High Hope International Group, both surging 10.13%, alongside Shanghai Xinhua Media with a 10.09% rise.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index saw a marginal decline of 0.1% to 20,498.95, with tech giants under pressure.

BYD Electronic International dropped 3.19%, Baidu fell 2.91%, and Lenovo Group slid 2.77%.

In South Korea, the Kospi 100 lost 1.42%, closing at 2,576.62.

EcoPro Materials led losses with an 8.1% drop, followed by KakaoPay, down 7.12%, and Doosan Bobcat at 7%.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was one of the worst performers, falling 1.66% to 8,205.70.

Viva Energy Group slid 6.67%, Metcash fell 6.2%, and James Hardie Industries dropped 4.65%.

New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 declined 0.85% to 12,813.15, with Pacific Edge dropping 6.71%, Eroad falling 4.21%, and Oceania Healthcare down 3.7%.

In currency markets, the dollar was last up 0.03% on the yen to trade at JPY 150.88, while it slipped 0.35% against the Aussie to AUD 1.4966 and retreated 0.34% from the Kiwi, changing hands at NZD 1.6525.

Oil prices rose, with Brent crude futures last up 0.66% on ICE at $74.78 per barrel, and the NYMEX quote for West Texas Intermediate gaining 1.05% to $71.30.

Korean producer price growth slows in September

In economic news, South Korea’s producer prices in September rose at their slowest annual pace since November 2023, increasing by 1% compared to the same period a year ago.

On a month-to-month basis, the producer price index (PPI) declined 0.2%, marking the second consecutive monthly drop.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.