Asian stocks slipped on Tuesday, tracking losses on Wall Street as traders braced for an interest rate hike by Federal Reserve.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index was 1.2 per cent lower at 21,242.66 and the Kospi in South Korea dropped less than 0.1 per cent to 2,070.54. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng eased 0.3 per cent to 26,022.16.
The Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.6 per cent to 2,583.51. Australia’s S&P ASX 200 was down 0.9 per cent at 5,609.00. Shares were lower in Taiwan and Southeast Asia, reports AP.
Less than 40 of the 500 stocks comprising the S&P 500 finished the day higher. The benchmark index gave up 2.1 per cent to 2,545.94, its lowest level since Oct. 9, 2017.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average skidded 2.1 per cent to 23,592.98 and the Nasdaq composite was down 2.3 per cent at 6,753.73.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks lost 2.3 per cent to 1,378.14.
Oil prices fell on worries about oversupply and softening growth in China, which could hit demand.
Benchmark US crude shed 49 cents to $49.39 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract dropped $1.32 to $49.88 in New York on Monday.
Brent crude, used to price international oils, gave up 59 cents to $59.02 a barrel. It lost 67 cents to settle at $59.61 a barrel in London.
The dollar weakened to 112.61 yen from 112.83 yen in late trading Monday. The euro rose to $1.1353 from $1.1349.
