Most Asian stock markets retreated on Tuesday, mirroring a pullback on Wall Street where major indexes stepped back from recent record highs. While the mood was generally cautious across the region, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 emerged as a rare bright spot, gaining 0.2% to reach 50,691.39. Elsewhere, heavyweights like Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 0.8% to 24,549.54, and the Shanghai Composite dipped 0.1% to 3,918.83 as investors awaited policy signals from China’s Central Economic Work Conference.
In South Korea and Taiwan, markets also saw declines, with the Kospi falling 0.3% and the Taiex losing 0.5%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.2% to 8,607.80 following the Reserve Bank’s decision to keep cash rates steady at 3.6%. The lackluster performance in Asia followed a muted session in the U.S., where the S&P 500 slipped 0.3%, closing at 6,846.51. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq also posted minor losses as traders paused for breath ahead of pivotal economic updates.
A major focus for global investors is the upcoming Federal Reserve meeting on Wednesday. The central bank is widely expected to cut its benchmark interest rate to support a softening jobs market, despite inflation remaining stubbornly above the 2% target. Wall Street is anxious to see how the Fed balances these competing economic pressures and whether officials will signal a pause in rate cuts for 2026.
Corporate news provided some dramatic movements, particularly in the media sector. Netflix shares dropped 3.4% after Paramount launched a hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, challenging a previous agreement with the streaming giant. Paramount offered $30 per share in an all-cash deal, contrasting with Netflix’s cash-and-stock offer. Meanwhile, IBM made waves with an $11 billion acquisition of data company Confluent, causing Confluent’s stock to soar nearly 30%.
On the geopolitical front, Nvidia shares climbed 2.3% in after-hours trading following comments from President Donald Trump. He announced that the chipmaker would be allowed to sell its advanced H200 AI chips to approved customers in China, a move experts say could significantly accelerate China’s artificial intelligence capabilities. In currency and commodities, the U.S. dollar strengthened slightly against the yen, while crude oil prices dipped.