Shares in the Asia-Pacific were mostly lower Tuesday after a positive start to the week, and as investors digested Australia’s central bank’s meeting minutes.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 173.21 points, or 0.7%, to 26,961.68. Japanese markets returned to trade Tuesday after a holiday on Monday and bucked the trend in the region.
In company news, the Financial Times reported that SoftBank has paused plans to list chip designer Arm in London because of political uncertainty in the U.K. SoftBank Group’s shares rose 1.4%.
The Japanese yen traded at 137.89 per dollar, still stronger than levels seen last week.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index hurtled lower 185.12 points, or 0.9%, to 20,661.06.
Meanwhile, Swire Pacific, a Hong Kong-based conglomerate, sad it acquired Coca-Cola subsidiaries with bottling businesses in Vietnam and Cambodia. The company’s Hong Kong-listed shares were down 1.1% in the late afternoon.
The Reserve Bank of Australia released its meeting minutes on Tuesday, which showed that the board saw current rates as being “well below” the neutral rate, suggesting that further increases will be needed to return inflation to the target over time.
The RBA raised rates by 50 basis points earlier this month. “The level of interest rates was still very low for an economy with a tight labour market and facing a period of higher inflation,” the minutes said.
The Australian dollar strengthened to $0.6859.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 slid 23.25 points, or 0.5%, to 4,269.34.
In Taiwan, the Taiex subsided 25.56 points, or 0.2%, to 14,694.08.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index faded 3.97 points, or 0.1%, to 3,117.79
In Korea, the Kospi slumbered 4.28 points, or 0.2%, to 2,370.97.
In Australia, the ASX 200 stumbled 37.54 points, or 0.6%, to 6,649.60
In New Zealand, the NZX dropped 0.9 points to 11,162.73