Tokyo, Japan (BBN)-Asian markets were under pressure on Tuesday, as investor sentiment soured after the Dow retreated further from the 20,000 mark and oil prices plunged as much as 4 per cent overnight.
The ASX 200 fell 0.9 per cent, seeing broad losses across all sub-indexes except for gold which was up 1.81 per cent, reports CNBC.
Australian retail prices for November rose by 0.2 per cent from October, versus market consensus calling for a 0.4 per cent increase.
Japanese benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.19 per cent, like due to the yen’s strength.
Shares of Toyota were up 0.27 per cent to 6,949 yen each after initially trading lower.
Its North American Chief Executive Jim Lentz announced on Monday that it would invest $10 billion over the next five years in the US to meet demand and upgrade plants and build more fuel-efficient models.
The Japanese automaker has recently been criticized by President-elect Donald Trump on Twitter for shifting the production of its Corolla to Mexico from Canada.
But Toyota’s Lentz said in an interview at the Detroit auto show that this investment was not in response to Trumps’ latest tweet, but part of Toyota’s business strategy.
Takeda Pharmaceutical was up 1.35 per cent to 5,032 yen a share, after it announced it would buy US cancer drug maker Ariad Pharmaceuticals, in a deal valued at $5.2 billion.
Over in South Korea, the Kospi was down 0.14 per cent.
South Korean electronic giants LG and Samsung consider building US factories for the production of home appliances to appease Trump, the Nikkei Business Review reported late Monday.
Both companies are set to announce its plans to invest in the US ahead of the new president’s inauguration on January 20.
LG Electronics was down 2.05 per cent at 52,500 won each, while Samsung Electronics inched 0.05 per cent at 1,863,000 won per share.
Mainland Chinese shares were under pressure, with the Shanghai composite down 0.19 per cent and the Shenzhen composite off 0.065 per cent.
China’s December consumer inflation was up 2.1 per cent year-on-year, lower than a Reuters poll which had expected consumer prices to rise by 2.3 per cent, while producer prices jumped 5.5 per cent from the previous year compared to forecasts of 4.5 per cent increase.
Producer prices had risen to the fastest pace since September 2011.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was in the green, up 0.37 per cent.
Stateside, the Dow Jones industrial average retreated from its march to 20,000, slipped 0.38 per cent to 19,887.38, while the S&P 500 fell 0.35 per cent to end at 2,268.9 while the Nasdaq composite finished up 0.19 per cent, to 5,531.82.
In currency markets, the dollar index lost ground to trade at 101.87, compared to highs of 102.29 yesterday.
“Greenback bulls have erred on the side of caution this week as we approach Trump’s press conference and confirmation hearings,” said Matt Simpson, senior market analyst at ThinkMarkets, in a note released Tuesday.
The yen rose against the dollar at 115.98, while the Australian dollar was stronger at $0.735.
The pound was weaker against the greenback, trading at $1.2137, extending a four-day decline after comments from British Prime Minister Theresa May suggesting that the U.K. may leave the European single market.
During Asian hours, US crude were up 0.02 per cent at $51.97 a barrel, while Brent was down 0.04 per cent at $54.92.
Crude prices dropped 4 per cent on Monday during US hours, on concerns that record Iraqi crude exports and rising US production would undermine the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries recent deal to cut supply.
In Iraq, oil exports from the southern Basra ports reached a record high of 3.51 million barrels per day in December, Reuters reported.
BBN/SK/AD