SYDNEY- Asian shares slid on Tuesday amid concerns about US investment curbs on China, while a run-up in the euro faded as investors wait for Germany to sort out the formation of its new government.
Investors are also cautious ahead of results from artificial intelligence darling Nvidia on Wednesday, where options point to a share price move of about 8 percent in either direction should they surprise.
Europe is set to open flat, with pan-European STOXX 50 futures little changed. Nasdaq futures and S&P 500 futures were up 0.1 percent in Asia.
In Asia, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 1 percent. Japan’s Nikkei returned from a public holiday with a 1.3 percent fall, but shares of its five major trading houses surged thanks to interest from billionaire investor Warren Buffett.
Bank of Korea on Tuesday cut its interest rates by a quarter-point as expected, helping South Korean shares to trim some losses.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index initially fell as much as 2.7 percent, but it was last down 1 percent. Chinese blue chips dropped 0.8 percent.
Shares in tech giant Alibaba which had propelled the Hong Kong index to three-year highs, were last down 3.2 percent after its US-listed shares tumbled 10 percent overnight in the biggest daily drop in more than two years.
Investors were rattled by an order from US President Donald Trump to restrict Chinese investments in strategic areas such as chips, AI and aerospace. Bloomberg reported Washington is seeking to toughen restrictions on the export of semiconductor technology to China, with the help of allies.
“The optimism about China’s tech sector cools off as markets realize that the more positive the outlook for the sector, the greater the risk it will be targeted by the US,” said Kyle Rodda, a senior analyst at Capital.com.
Also weighing on sentiment was Trump’s indication that proposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada were still set to start next week, although investors had hoped negotiations would forestall the threat.
