Asia-Pacific markets set to fall following volatility on Wall Street
U.S. stocks sold off earlier in the session but mounted a dramatic comeback as investors stepped in to buy beaten-up tech shares.
BigThink
SINGAPORE — Asia-Pacific markets were set to fall on Tuesday after a volatile session overnight on Wall Street.
The Nikkei futures contract in Chicago was at 27,370 while its counterpart in Osaka was at 27,280. That compared against the Nikkei 225's last close at 27,588.37.
Australia's ASX 200 fell around 0.9% in early trading.
Economic data expected Tuesday includes South Korea's fourth-quarter GDP as well as inflation data in Australia. On the earnings front, Hyundai Motors' is slated to report fourth-quarter results.
U.S. volatility
U.S. markets were volatile on Monday. Stocks sold off earlier in the session but mounted a dramatic comeback as investors stepped in to buy beaten-up tech shares.
Stock picks and investing trends from CNBC Pro:
The Dow rallied after being down 1,115 points at one point, closing up 99.13 points, or 0.3%, at 34,364.50, gaining for the first day in seven. The S&P 500 closed in the green after briefly hitting correction territory earlier in the session, falling more than 10% from its Jan. 3 record close. It finished 0.3% higher at 4,410.13.
The Nasdaq Composite Index turned positive after being down as much as 4.9% earlier in the session, gaining 0.6% at 13,855.13.
"The recent sell-off in stocks reflects concern about the Fed tightening at a time when the economic momentum is slowing. However after eight straight days of selling and 10% drop year to date, more attractive valuations especially in technology stocks attracted bargain hunters," Kathy Lien of 60 Second Investor wrote in a Tuesday note.
Oil prices also fell around 2% overnight on those expectations of Fed tightening. The Federal Open Market Committee is due to meet on Tuesday and Wednesday to decide on the next steps for U.S. monetary policy.
Geopolitical tensions were in focus as well, with fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine growing, as the military buildup at the border shows no sign of dissipating and crisis talks remain at an impasse.
Currencies
Bitcoin returned to positive territory after crashing to a new low on Monday. On Monday, bitcoin fell to $32,982.11, its lowest point since July, according to Coin Metrics. But the largest cryptocurrency by market cap was up 5.6% in afternoon trading around $37,183.25, as broader equities reversed course and ended the day higher. It last traded at $36,518 during Asia hours.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 95.869, rising sharply from levels around 95.6.
The Japanese yen traded at 114.05 per dollar, weakening from around the 113 level previously. The Australian dollar was at $0.7147, dropping from around $0.717.
