· Asian shares retreat as virus and Sino-U.S. tensions flare
Asian stock markets slipped on Tuesday, oil sagged and a safety bid supported the dollar as simmering Sino-U.S. tensions and fresh coronavirus restrictions in California kept a lid on investor optimism as earnings season gets underway.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.2%. Japan’s Nikkei retreated from a one-month high touched on Monday, dropping 0.9%, while Chinese stocks were down despite better-than-expected trade numbers. A firm dollar put pressure on the Aussie and kiwi. [AUD/]
The moves came after a selloff on Wall Street that followed reopening rollbacks in California, where Governor Gavin Newsom ordered bars closed and restaurants and movie theatres to cease indoor operations.
Meanwhile tension grew between the United States and China. The United States on Monday rejected China’s disputed claims to offshore resources in most of the South China Sea - a shift in tone which prompted a rebuke from Beijing.
· Nikkei drops on profit-taking, semiconductor stocks slump
Japanese shares ended lower on Tuesday as investors booked profits after a sharp gain in the previous session, while semiconductor and other high-tech firms' stocks took a hit following overnight weakness in US peers on Nasdaq.
The benchmark Nikkei share average slipped 0.87% to close at 22,587.01, after hitting a one-month high in the previous session. There were 83 advancers against 135 decliners on the index.
In the broader market, Topix fell 0.5% to 1,565.15, following a 2.46% jump in the previous session.
Semiconductor shares were bruised by a 2.13% drop on the Nasdaq Composite index, which was pulled down by Amazon, Microsoft and other big-name leaders of Wall Street's recent rally as fresh coronavirus restrictions in California and mounting US-China tensions triggered a selloff.
· China shares closed lower on Tuesday as investors consolidated their positions from a recent bull run, and as uncertainty over China's economic outlook and relationship with the United States weighed despite encouraging trade data.
At the close, the Shanghai Composite index was down 0.83 per cent at 3,414.62. The index trimmed losses that had pushed it down more than 2 per cent in afternoon trade. It has gained 14.4 per cent this month.
· European markets retreat as coronavirus spike weighs on sentiment; U.K. economy posts weak May rebound
European stocks pulled back on Tuesday as a spike in coronavirus cases started to weigh on global market sentiment.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 dropped 1.5% in early trade, with tech stocks shedding 3% to lead losses as all sectors and major bourses slid into negative territory.
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