Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed on Tuesday as investors looked ahead to the release of U.S. consumer inflation data for August.
In Hong Kong, China Evergrande Group’s stock plunged 11.87% after the embattled property developer on Tuesday flagged expectations for a “significant continuing decline in contract sales in September,” as confidence falls following negative media reports surrounding the firm.
Shares of China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle and Evergrande Property Services, units that Evergrande has been attempting to sell, also plummeted 24.66% and 12.01% respectively. Evergrande Group said Tuesday that it was “uncertain” whether it will be able to make any such sale.
The broader Hang Seng index in Hong Kong closed 1.21% lower at 25,502.23, after losses after its Monday drop. Mainland Chinese stocks closed lower, with the Shanghai composite declining 1.42% to 3,662.60 while the Shenzhen component shed 0.542% to 14,626.08.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan rose 0.73% to close at 30,670.10 while the Topix index jumped 1.01% to 2,118.87. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.67%, closing at 3,148.83.
Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.16% on the day to 7,437.30. While the MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.32%.
Overnight stateside, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounded from a five-day losing streak, jumping 261.91 points to 34,869.63. The S&P 500 edged 0.23% higher to 4,468.73. The Nasdaq Composite lagged as it dipped fractionally to 15,105.58.
Looking ahead, the U.S. consumer price index for August is set to be released on Tuesday stateside, with expectations that it will likely show inflation stateside continuing to run hot.
Asian Markets Currencies and Oil
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 92.506 after a recent decline from above 92.7.
The Japanese yen traded at 110.01 per dollar, stronger than levels around 110.1 seen against the greenback yesterday. The Australian dollar was at $0.7345 as it struggled to recover after declining from above $0.744 last week.
Oil prices were higher in the afternoon of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures up 0.94% to $74.20 per barrel. U.S. crude futures gained 0.88% to $71.07 per barrel.
