CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are mostly lower on Tuesday following the mostly negative cues overnight from Wall Street after California Governor Gavin Newsom rolled back the state's reopening following a recent spike in coronavirus cases.
Worries about the rising number of coronavirus cases globally and renewed U.S.-China tensions dampened investor sentiment. The White House has rejected China's expansive claims in the South China Sea.
The Australian market is declining. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 52.10 points or 0.87 percent to 5,925.40, after touching a low of 5,921.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is lower by 56.30 points or 0.92 percent to 6,033.00. Australian stocks closed higher on Monday.
Among the major miners, BHP Group is declining 0.5 percent and Fortescue Metals is edging down 0.1 percent, while Rio Tinto is adding 0.3 percent.
Gold miners are weak as safe-haven gold prices gave back ground in electronic trading after ending the regular session higher. Evolution Mining and Newcrest Mining are lower by more than 2 percent each.
In the oil sector, Santos, Woodside Petroleum and Oil Search are all declining more than 1 percent each after crude oil prices ended lower overnight.
Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank, ANZ Banking and Westpac are lower in a range of 0.2 percent to 0.4 percent, while Commonwealth Bank is edging up 0.1 percent.
Westpac said it has appointed KPMG partner Michael Rowland as its new chief financial officer and he will join the bank later in the year.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is lower against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday. The local unit was quoted at $0.6935, compared to $0.6975 on Monday.
The Japanese market is also losing. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 148.57 points or 0.65 percent to 22,636.17, after falling to a low of 22,598.21 earlier. Japanese shares hit a one-month high on Monday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is declining more than 1 percent and Fast Retailing is lower by almost 2 percent.
The major exporters are mixed despite a weaker yen. Sony is lower by almost 2 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is down 0.4 percent, while Canon is advancing more than 1 percent, Panasonic is adding 0.6 percent.
In the financial sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is adding more than 1 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is up 0.6 percent.
Among automakers, Toyota is rising 0.3 percent and Honda is up 0.2 percent and In the tech space, Advantest and Tokyo Electron are declining more than 1 percent each.
In the oil sector, Inpex is down more than 1 percent, while Japan Petroleum is advancing almost 1 percent after crude oil prices declined overnight.
Among the other major gainers, Toho Zinc is rising more than 4 percent and Pacific Metals is higher by more than 3 percent. Sumitomo Metal Mining, Tokuyama Corp. and Nissan Chemical are advancing more than 2 percent each.
Conversely, Keisei Electric Railway is losing more than 3 percent, while Casio Computer Co., West Japan Railway, Tokyu Corp and Marui Group are lower by more than 2 percent each.
In economic news, Japan will provide final May numbers for industrial production today.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 107 yen-range on Tuesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong is declining more than 1 percent and Shanghai is losing almost 1 percent. South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Indonesia are also lower. Meanwhile, New Zealand is modestly higher and Malaysia is edging up.
On Wall Street, stocks gave back early gains and closed mostly lower on Monday as California Governor Gavin Newsom rolled back the state's reopening following a recent spike in coronavirus cases. A sharp pullback by the Nasdaq came as tech giants like Netflix, Amazon and Facebook showed substantial downturns after reaching new record intraday highs.
After jumping by as much as 2 percent, the Nasdaq plunged 226.60 points or 2.1 percent to 10,390.84, and the S&P 500 slumped 29.82 points or 0.9 percent to 3,155.22. The Dow inched up 10.50 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 26,085.80.
Meanwhile, the major European markets showed strong moves to the upside on Monday. While the French CAC 40 Index shot up by 1.7 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index both jumped by 1.3 percent.
Crude oil prices drifted lower on Monday as concerns about the energy demand outlook resurfaced amid worries about rising new coronavirus cases over the weekend. WTI crude oil for August delivery fell $0.45 or 1.1 percent to $40.10 a barrel.
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