Asia Tumbles, Following Wall St. Weakness

Asia-Pacific markets were mostly lower on Tuesday after losses on Wall Street, with investors holding back ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision on Dec. 10 stateside.

The Nikkei 225 gained 73.16 points, or 0.1%, to 50,655.10.

Tech gains limited the Nikkei’s losses, with names like Konica Minolta climbing 5.7% and semiconductor manufacturer Disco Corp adding 4.7%, among the top gainers on the index.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng lost 331.13 points, or 1.3%, to 25,434.23.

The U.S. central bank is widely expected to cut rates by another 25 basis points at its final meeting of the year, bringing the Federal Funds rate to 3.5%-3.75%. However, experts said the Fed will then take a more data-dependent stance.

Australian markets again headed lower, after the country’s central bank held its policy rate at 3.6% as expected.

In other markets

The CSI 300 in Shanghai dropped 23.53 points, or 0.5%, to 4,598.22

In Korea, the Kospi fell 11.3 points, or 0.3%, to 4,143.55

In Singapore, the Straits Times Index forged ahead 6.16 points, or 0.1%, to 4,513.24.

In Taiwan, the Taiex slumped 121.18 points, or 0.4%, to 28,182.60.

In New Zealand, the NZX 50 backtracked 31.54 points, or 0.2%, to 13,454.78.

In Australia, the ASX 200 subtracted 38.5 points, or 0.5%, to 8,585.94.