Tokyo, Japan (BBN)-Stocks in Asia were trading largely lower on Tuesday following a lacklustre lead from the US overnight and as oil prices fell again.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 opened lower and was down 0.4 per cent at 17,795.09 in mid-morning trade, reports BBC.
The benchmark index closed up nearly 2 per cent on Monday – its highest close since early January after a surprise move by the Bank of Japan cut rates to -0.1 per cent.
In Australia, energy related stocks were being hurt by oil worries.
Sydney’s benchmark ASX 200 was down 0.57 per cent at 5,014.30 points – dragged down by shares in energy giants including BHP, Woodside and Santos.
Investors were also reacting to a move by ratings agency S&P to lower its rating for BHP to ‘A’ from ‘A+’ due to falls in commodity prices, among other issues.
By mid-morning, shares in Woodside and Santos were down about 2.5 per cent and BHP was down more than 1 per cent.
At its monthly meeting later on Tuesday, Australia’s central bank is widely expected to keep its rates on hold at a record low of 2 per cent – where they have been since May 2015.
Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 0.35 per cent at 17,802.47, while the Shanghai Composite was bucking the regional trend to be up 1.2 per cent at 2,720.47.
In South Korea, the Kospi index was down 0.54 per cent to 1,914.86, in line with the rest of the region.
BBN/SK/AD
