Asian Stocks Down as COVID-19 Caution Continues

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Investing.com – Asia Pacific stocks were mostly down on Tuesday morning, with investors continuing to digest the latest economic data from China amid fears that the latest COVID-19 outbreaks will delay the global economic recovery.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 edged up 0.15% by 9:54 PM ET (1:54 AM GMT), with the country’s state of emergency set to be extended until Sep. 12.

South Korea’s KOSPI was down 0.58%, with markets reopening after a holiday.

In Australia, the ASX 200 fell 0.72%. The Reserve Bank of Australia released the minutes from its latest meeting earlier in the day, while the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and Bank Indonesia will hand down their policy decisions on Wednesday and Thursday respectively.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged down 0.11%.

China’s Shanghai Composite was up 0.24%, while the Shenzhen Component fell 0.71%, as the National People’s Congress Standing Committee began its four-day meeting.

Elsewhere in China, Monday’s disappointing industrial production and retail sales data, as well as the ongoing regulatory tightening in various sectors, continue to remain on investors’ radars.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler also issued his most explicit warning so far about the risks of investing in Chinese companies.

Investors now await U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at a town hall discussion with educators later in the day, the minutes from the latest Fed meeting the day after, and the Jackson Hole symposium later in the month for clues on the Fed’s timeline for asset tapering and interest rate hikes.

Meanwhile, Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said he would support announcing a start to asset tapering in September should the U.S. get another “strong” jobs report in August. However, some investors suggested that the beginning of asset tapering is not the biggest market shock.

“The asset tapering announcement is unlikely to create a large shock in the market… the market simply had a long time to prepare for it. The real shock will come when the debate on a cycle of Fed rate hikes starts,” Nordea Investment Funds senior macro strategist Sebastien Galy said in a note.

On the data front, U.S. core retail sales and retail sales data are due later in the day.