TOKYO – Asian shares declined uniformly on Tuesday, following a widespread drop on Wall Street, which offset some of the substantial gains achieved last week amid optimism for interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 dove 1.1% in morning trading to 42,342.28. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.3% to 8,949.40.
South Korea’s Kospi fell by 0.8% to 3,184.70, influenced by data indicating improved consumer sentiment, bolstering expectations that the central bank will refrain from altering interest rates. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng decreased by 0.2% to 25,766.68, and the Shanghai Composite edged down by 0.1% to 3,878.24.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 dropped 0.4% on Monday, although it remains near its historic peak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.8% down following its record high set on Friday. The Nasdaq composite finished 0.2% lower.
Selling was widespread, with health care stocks among the biggest drags on the market. Pfizer fell 2.9% and Eli Lilly and Co. slid 2.3%.
Increases in several prominent technology stocks helped cushion the market’s setbacks. Alphabet, the parent company of Google, gained 1.2%, and technology giant Nvidia advanced by 1%.
Treasury yields climbed in the bond market after their significant fall on Friday amid the anticipation that the Fed will reduce its benchmark interest rate in September.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.28% from 4.25% late Friday. The two-year Treasury yield rose to 3.73% from 3.70% late Friday.
Wall Street continues to largely anticipate that the Fed will lower interest rates at its next September meeting. According to CME Group data, traders predict an 84% likelihood that the central bank will cut its benchmark rate by a quarter of a percentage point.
In the latest news related to the Federal Reserve, President Donald Trump said he’s firing Lisa Cook,a member of the Federal Reserve’s board of governors, amid mortgage fraud allegations, opening a new front in the fight over America’s central bank.
The S&P 500 fell 27.59 points to 6,439.32. The Dow lost 349.27 points to close at 45,282.47. The Nasdaq slid 47.24 points to 21,449.29.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude lost 32 cents to $64.48 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, declined 28 cents to $68.52 a barrel.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar dipped to 147.31 Japanese yen from 147.71 yen. The euro cost $1.1644, up from $1.1623.
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AP Business Writers Damian J. Troise and Alex Veiga contributed. Yuri Kageyama is on Threads https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama
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