CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are in negative territory on Tuesday following the overnight sell-off on Wall Street and the fall in crude oil prices amid rising worries about slowing global economic growth. Investors remained cautious as they awaited key central bank monetary policy decisions due this week, with the Federal Reserve expected to raise interest rates on Wednesday.
The Australian market is notably lower with stocks falling across the board. Investors are also cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision due on Wednesday.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 75.90 points or 1.34 percent to 5,582.40, after touching a low of 5,576.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 77.40 points or 1.35 percent to 5,655.50. Australian markets posted strong gains on Monday.
Among the major miners, BHP Group is down 0.1 percent, Rio Tinto is declining almost 1 percent and Fortescue Metals is losing almost 2 percent.
In the banking sector, ANZ Banking is losing more than 2 percent, while National Australia Bank, Westpac and Commonwealth Bank are lower in a range of 1.2 percent to 1.5 percent.
Oil stocks are also weak after crude oil prices tumbled more than 2 percent overnight. Santos is down more than 2 percent, Oil Search is declining more than 1 percent and Woodside Petroleum is lower by almost 1 percent.
Shares of Caltex Australia are losing almost 7 percent after the the company's Lytton refinery performance weighed heavily on its earnings outlook.
Bucking the trend, gold miners are higher after safe-haven gold prices rose overnight. Evolution Mining is adding more than 1 percent and Newcrest Mining is advancing almost 2 percent.
Carsales.com said it will take an impairment charge of A$48 million against its stake in Stratton Finance due to tighter credit conditions and a new ban on flex commissions. The auto classified advertiser's shares are losing more than 1 percent.
AGL Energy has named former chief financial officer and interim CEO Brett Redman as its chief executive on a permanent basis. The energy supplier's shares are down 0.6 percent.
Meanwhile, Fletcher Building's shares are gaining more than 3 percent after the dual-listed New Zealand builder said it has agreed to sell the Formica Group to Netherlands-based Broadview Holding BV for A$840 million.
In economic news, the Reserve Bank of Australia will release the minutes from its December 4 monetary policy meeting today. At the meeting, the board decided to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record low of 1.50 percent - where it has remained since August 2016.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is edging higher against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday. The local currency was quoted at $0.7180, up from $0.7173 on Monday.
The Japanese market is losing following the overnight sell-off on Wall Street and on a stronger safe-haven yen. Investors remained cautious ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan's monetary policy decisions due on Wednesday and Thursday respectively.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 264.91 points or 1.23 percent to 21,241.97, after touching a low of 21,107.13 earlier. Japanese shares ended notably higher on Monday.
The major exporters are lower on a stronger yen. Sony is losing 3 percent and Panasonic is down almost 2 percent, while Mitsubishi Electric and Canon are lower by almost 1 percent each.
In the tech sector, Advantest is adding almost 1 percent, while Tokyo Electron is down 0.3 percent. Among the major automakers, Honda is edging down 0.1 percent and Toyota is lower by 0.4 percent.
Nissan Motor decided not to name anyone as the company's chairman to succeed Carlos Ghosn at a board meeting on Monday. The automaker's shares are adding 0.4 percent.
In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is down more than 1 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is lower by almost 2 percent. In the oil space, Inpex is declining more than 2 percent and Japan Petroleum is losing more than 3 percent.
Hitachi Ltd. said Monday it has reached a deal to acquire the power grid business of Swiss engineering group ABB, initially investing $6.4 billion for an 80.1 percent stake before a complete takeover. Shares of Hitachi are losing almost 2 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Oki Electric and Tosoh Corp. are rising more than 2 percent each, while Toho Zinc is advancing almost 2 percent.
On the flip side, Takeda Pharmaceutical and Casio Computer are losing more than 5 percent each, while Astellas Pharma and Kikkoman Corp. are declining more than 4 percent each.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the upper 112 yen-range on Tuesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Singapore is declining more than 1 percent, while Shanghai, South Korea, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan are also lower.
On Wall Street, stocks closed sharply lower on Monday in a volatile session amid lingering concerns about global economic growth as well as continued uncertainty about trade between the U.S. and China. Traders were also on edge ahead of the Federal Reserve's highly anticipated monetary policy announcement scheduled for Wednesday.
The Dow plummeted 507.53 points or 2.1 percent to 23,592.98, the Nasdaq tumbled 156.93 points or 2.3 percent to 6,753.73 and the S&P 500 plunged 54.01 points or 2.1 percent to 2,545.94.
The major European markets also moved to the downside on Monday. While the German DAX Index fell by 0.9 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index both slumped by 1.1 percent.
Crude oil futures tumbled and settled at an over 14-month low on Monday on demand growth concerns. WTI crude for January fell $1.32 or 2.6 percent to close at $49.88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest settlement since early October 2017.
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