Sydney Opera House, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
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Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Tuesday as investors braced for the U.S. presidential election and a possible rate cut by the Federal Reserve later this week.
Japanese Nikkei 225 Index It rose 0.68% in the first hour of trading, with the Topix rising slightly by 0.33%. The Kospi fell 0.67% and the Kosdaq rose 0.25%. The country’s consumer inflation The annual growth rate was 1.3% in October, slightly lower than the 1.4% forecast by Reuters.
Hong Kong Hang Seng Index futures were at 20,658 points, slightly higher than the Hang Seng Index’s last closing point of 20,567.52 points.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.56% as traders closely watched the upcoming central bank interest rate decision. Analysts at HSBC and Commonwealth Bank of Australia expect the Reserve Bank of Australia to keep the cash rate on hold.
Overnight, the US Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 257.59 points, or 0.61%, to close at 41,794.60 points. The S&P 500 Index fell 0.28% to close at 5,712.69 points; the Nasdaq Index fell 0.33% to close at 18,179.98 points.
Monday’s stock market action came as safe-haven U.S. Treasuries rose, suggesting some investors may be reducing risk ahead of Election Day.
In addition to the election, Wall Street is also preparing for the Federal Reserve’s upcoming interest rate decision on Thursday. According to CME Group’s FedWatch tool, Traders expect a 99% chance The central bank will cut interest rates by 25 basis points at the end of its policy meeting, following a half-percentage point cut in September.
—CNBC’s Jesse Pond and Samantha Subin contributed to this report.
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