HONG KONG : Most Asian stocks fell on Tuesday, while the U.S. dollar and oil steadied, as investors held safe ranges awaiting more clues on whether central banks will continue their aggressive interest rate hikes.
Market conditions were also subdued heading into the U.S. Independence Day public holiday on Tuesday, with most of Wall Street closed.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.1 per cent, by Tuesday mid-morning.
Australian shares were mostly flat, as investors waited to see whether the central bank will tighten again when it announces a policy decision later in the day.
Japan’s Nikkei share average fell 1.1 per cent as investors exited some bullish positions after the benchmark index closed at a 33-year high in the previous session.
In coming days, investors are watching out for a mixed bag of economic data ahead of second-quarter earnings, while uncertainty remains over the Federal Reserve’s policy path, said Manishi Raychaudhuri, head of Asia Pacific equity research at BNP Paribas.
The minutes from the Fed’s last meeting are due later this week, which could provide additional clues on policy direction but also inject some volatility, he said.
“If the Fed overtightens and decides to do more rate hikes than twice as the market widely expected, then there’s a concern that the recession may turn out to be deeper than what is being factored in,” Raychaudhuri said.
Source: Reuter
