Asian Stocks Trade Mostly Lower

Shares opened lower in Europe on Tuesday after a day of declines in most Asian markets, Elaine Kurtenbach reported for the Associated Press (AP) on September 5, 2023.

The STI was down 0.4% as most shares in Southeast Asia slumped.

Germany’s DAX fell 0.4% to 15,765.55, and the CAC 40 in Paris dropped 0.8% to 7,224.88. Britain’s FTSE 100 edged 0.1% lower to 7,442.85.

The futures for the S&P 500 were down 0.3%, while those for the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.2%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.1% to 7,314.30 after the central bank, as expected, kept its key interest rate at 4.1%.

It was the third straight monthly meeting where rates remained unchanged, recognizing that inflation has abated somewhat.

In Asian trading, Hong Kong’s benchmark fell 2.1% to 18,456.91 as investors sold real estate shares to lock in gains fueled by recent government efforts to support the ailing property industry.

China Vanke lost 1.1%, while Country Garden Holdings gave up 1%. Hong Kong-based Sun Hung Kai Properties shed 2%. The Shanghai Composite index fell 0.7% to 3,154.37. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.3% to 33,036.76, and India’s Sensex rose 0.1% to 65,707.99.

In Seoul, the Kospi lost 0.1% to 2,580.79. Taiwan’s benchmark was little changed, and shares in Southeast Asia declined.

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