BANGKOK– Shares in Asia were mostly higher on Tuesday after Chinese shares were supported by a clear shift in Beijing towards easier credit and other forms of stimulus for the sluggish economy.
Shares of market superstar Nvidia fell 0.6% in after-hours trading, posting a 2.6% loss after China said it is investigating the company about suspected violations of China’s anti-monopoly laws.
The Shanghai Composite index rose 1.6% to 3,456.12, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1% to 20,618.18.
At a meeting announced late Monday, China’s top leaders agreed on a “moderately accommodative” monetary policy for the world’s second-largest economy. That is the first step in ten years away from a more cautious, “cautious” position. A major planning meeting Expected Wednesday could also mean more stimulus for the Chinese economy.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.5% to 39,335.74, while South Korea’s Kospi rose 2.3%, paring some of its recent losses as the recent political unrest cooked through.
On Tuesday, South Korean prosecutors attempted to formally arrest the man former Minister of Defense allegedly conspired with the president Yoon Suk Yeol at the imposition of martial law last week, as both men are investigated for rebellion and other charges.
Taiwan’s Taiex lost 0.8% as the government said the Chinese military appeared to be preparing for long-awaited exercises in response to a recent presidential visit, Lai Ching-te’s visits to Hawaii and Guam. Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said Monday it has detected Chinese navy and coast guard ships entering the Taiwan Strait and the western Pacific and that China had restricted airspace along the southeast coast until Wednesday.
The moves raise tensions after newly elected US President Donald Trump said he would not commit to defending Taiwan if China invaded during his presidency.
Elsewhere in the region, the Australian S&The P/ASX 200 fell 0.4% to 8,389.30. Markets in Thailand were closed for a public holiday.
On Monday the S&The P500 fell 0.6% to 6,052.85, coming off its level 57th all-time high of the year until now. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5% to 44,401.93, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.6% to 19,736.69.
Nvidia’s decline was by far the heaviest weight on the S&P500. It has skyrocketed to become one of Wall Street’s most valuable companies because the chips are driving much of the world’s movement toward artificial intelligence technology. That gives stock movements more influence on the S&P500 than almost any other.
U.S.-listed shares of several Chinese companies rose, including a 12.4% rise for electric vehicle company Nio and a 7.4% rise for Alibaba Group. Shares in Shanghai.
The highlight of the week for Wall Street comes mid-week, when the latest updates appear inflation arrive. Economists expect Wednesday’s report to show that consumer inflation has changed little over the past month. A separate report on Thursday, meanwhile, could show an acceleration in inflation at the wholesale level.
It’s the last big data the Federal Reserve will get before next week’s interest rate meeting, where it is expected to cut rates. its main interest rate for the third time this year.
The Fed has been to relax the key interest rate from a 20-year high since September, the slowing labor market is helping, after inflation nearly returned to the 2% target.
In the oil market, a barrel of US crude lost 44 cents to $67.93 per barrel. It rose 1.7% to $68.37 on Monday after the overthrow of Syrian leader Bashar Assad, who sought asylum in Moscow after rebels. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 39 cents to $71.75 a barrel. On Monday, oil prices rose 1.4% to $72.14 per barrel.
The price of gold rose 0.3% to $2,693.10 an ounce, after rising 1% a day earlier amid the uncertainty that emerged at the end of the 20th century. Assad’s family 50 years of iron rule.
The US dollar fell from 151.22 yen to 151.19 Japanese yen. The euro rose from $1.0555 to $1.0557.
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AP Business writers Stan Choe and Matt Ott contributed.