The Sydney Opera House Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
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Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Tuesday as investors prepared for the U.S. presidential election and a possible interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve later this week.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.11% to close at 38,474.9, while the Topix gained 0.76% to close at 2,664.26.
South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.47 to close at 2,576.88%, while the Kosdaq slipped 0.3% to 751.81%. The country’s consumer inflation in October rose 1.3% from a year ago, slightly cooler than Reuters’ expectations of 1.4%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was up 1.8% as of its last hour of trade. Mainland China’s CSI 300 rose 2.53% to close 4,044.57.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slid 0.4% to close at 8,131.8. The Reserve Bank of Australia held its cash rate steady at 4.35% for the eighth meeting in a row, in line with Reuters’ expectations.
Overnight in the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 257.59 points, or 0.61%, to close at 41,794.60. The S&P 500 dipped 0.28% to settle at 5,712.69, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.33% to 18,179.98.
The moves in stocks Monday came as safe-haven U.S. Treasurys rallied, suggesting that some investors may be reducing risk ahead of Election Day.
In addition to the election, Wall Street is preparing for the Federal Reserve’s upcoming rate decision on Thursday. According to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, traders anticipate a 99% chance of a quarter-point rate cut at the end of the central bank’s policy meeting, following a half-percentage-point reduction in September.
—CNBC’s Jesse Pound and Samantha Subin contributed to this report.
