International
Wall Street Signals, Oil Outlook Damp Asian Stock Markets
Asian stock markets tracked moderately lower Tuesday on overnight Wall Street cues and ongoing uncertainty regarding the still-closed Strait of Hormuz.Hong Kong lost ground, Shanghai inched higher, and Tokyo remained closed on holiday. Other regional exchanges were mixed and muted, with Seoul also shuttered.In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened lower and could not recover, finishing down 0.8% as traders weighed Middle East developments, and eschewed tech issues.The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 197.27 to 25,898.61, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 57 to 30. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 0.9% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index rose 0.6%.Leading the upside was conglomerate CK Hutchinson, gaining 4.1%, while bank HSBC declined 5.2%.On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.1% to 4,112.16.On the other regional exchanges, the Taiwan TWSE inclined 0.2%; the Australian ASX 200 declined 0.2%; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.1%, and the Thai Set declined 0.2%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was down 0.3%.The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index fell 0.3% on the day.In economic news, citing inflation, the Reserve Bank of Australia raised its key policy interest rate by 0.25% to 4.35%, marking its third rate hike of 2026.
Hang SengNikkei 225Shanghai Composite