HONG KONG- Asia stocks faltered on Tuesday, tracking a retreat on Wall Street as traders bolstered their bets on US rate hikes in 2022 after President Joe Biden picked Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to lead the central bank for a second term.
The London market pointed to a softer opening with FTSE futures off 0.21 percent, while E-mini futures for the S&P 500 index ESc1 stayed flat.
MSCI’s gauge of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan fell 0.52 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slid 1 percent.
China’s benchmark CSI300 Index pared morning losses to stay just above the red, led by real estate shares after Chinese banks were told to issue more loans for property projects.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 outperformed, closing up 0.79 percent, boosted by miners and energy stocks. Japanese markets were closed for a public holiday.
President Biden on Monday tapped Powell to continue as Fed chair, and Lael Brainard, the other top candidate for the job, as vice chair. The news initially buoyed Wall Street stocks, before the market pulled back into the afternoon with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closing down from all-time highs. The dollar attracted solid support.
Riskier assets have been shaken up again over recent sessions amid surging COVID-19 cases in Europe and renewed curbs, dousing investor hopes of a quicker recovery in consumption and growth worldwide.
Germany’s outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel said the latest surge is the worst experienced by the country so far, while Austria went into a fresh lockdown on Monday.
