Asian Shares Decline, Nasdaq At Record High Ahead Of Fed Meet

Bangkok: Shares fell in Asia on Tuesday after the Nasdaq set a record ahead of a meeting by the Federal Reserve later this week that could set the direction for markets in the new year.US fu-tures slipped and oil prices reversed early losses. Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 0.2 per cent to 39,364.68, helped by gains in technology shares including SoftBank Group Corp., whose CEO Masayoshi Son joined President-elect Donald Trump in announcing plans Monday by the Japanese technology and telecoms giant to invest $100 billion in US projects over the next four years. SoftBank’s Tokyo-listed shares jumped 4.4 per cent.

Chinese markets slid further, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index losing 0.1 per cent to 19,773.60. The Shanghai Composite index shed 0.7 per cent to 3,361.49. “In China, recent dis-appointing data continues to pressure domestic policymakers to intensify their policy stimulus to invigorate domestic demand,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

South Korea’s Kospi sank 1.3 per cent to 2,456.81 as authorities were pushing to summon im-peached President Yoon Suk Yeol for questioning over his short-lived martial law decree of last week. The country’s Constitutional Court began its first meeting Monday on Yoon’s case to de-termine whether to remove him from office or reinstate him. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.8 per cent to 8,314.00. The Taiex in Taiwan fell 0.1 per cent while the Bangkok’s SET dropped 0.8 per cent.

On Monday, US stock indexes drifted amid mixed trading. The S&P 500 rose 0.4 per cent to 6,074.08 and the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.2 per cent to a record close of 20,173.89. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged, giving up 0.3 per cent to 43,717.48. Broadcom leaped 11.2 per cent to help lead the S&P 500 for a second straight day after delivering a profit report last week that beat analysts’ expectations thanks to the wave of enthusiasm about its artificial-intelligence offerings.