Asian stocks were subdued early on Tuesday, following the mixed close on Wall Street as investors shifted their focus to corporate earnings and as oil prices fell.
The Nikkei 225 edged higher by 0.21 percent in early morning trade as Japanese markets reopened for trade after a holiday. Most sectors traded higher, but gains were capped by sharp declines in miners, and the oil and coal products space.
Elsewhere, the Kospi slipped 0.27 percent in as South Korean stocks came under slight pressure. Major technology names were lower for the most part, with index bellwether Samsung Electronics edging down by 0.54 percent.
Down Under, the S&P/ASX 200 eased 0.27 percent, with the energy subindex weighing on the benchmark after the overnight tumble in oil prices. Oil producers traded lower, with Woodside Petroleum declining 1.56 percent and Santos down 1.48 percent.
Meanwhile, oil nursed its wounds after slumping overnight, with prices having extended losses after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said the U.S. will consider waivers on Iran sanctions for some crude importers. The overnight declines in price also came as Libyan ports reopened, although Reuters reported that output at the Sharara oilfield was still expected to fall.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were higher by 0.07 percent at $68.11 per barrel after settling more than 4 percent lower on Monday. Brent crude futures tacked on 0.45 percent to $72.16 after touching its lowest level since mid-April overnight.
Stocks stateside finished Monday mixed as earnings season shifted into high gear this week, with the financial sector getting a boost on the back of Bank of America reporting expectation-topping earnings and revenue. On the whole, analysts expect second-quarter earnings to grow 20 percent from one year ago, according to a FactSet poll.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.18 percent, or 44.95 points, to 25,064.36. Other major U.S. indexes closed slightly lower.
Over in Europe, stocks came under pressure, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 edging lower by 0.25 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 declining 0.8 percent.
In currencies, the dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, slipped overnight, last standing at 94.530. Against the yen, the dollar firmed to trade at 112.40 at 8:12 a.m. HK/SIN, above the 112.2 handle seen in the last session.
Those moves came before Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s semiannual congressional testimony on Tuesday during U.S. hours.
Here’s the economic calendar for Tuesday (all times in HK/SIN):
- 8:30 a.m.: Reserve Bank of Australia minutes
- 9:30 a.m.: China June house price index
— CNBC’s Tom DiChristopher contributed to this report.
Source: cnbc china
Asian shares subdued open after mixed close on Wall Street; energy stocks under pressure