Hong Kong's Hang Seng index leads losses in Asia as tensions between Russia and Ukraine escalate
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered forces into two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine, following a Monday announcement that he would recognize their independence.
MikeTyes
SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific declined on Tuesday as tensions surrounding Russia and Ukraine continued to keep investors on edge.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index led losses regionally, falling 2.69% to close at 23,520.
Hong Kong-listed shares of Alibaba dropped 3.05% following a Bloomberg report that Chinese authorities have told banks and state firms to report exposure to Ant Group.
Other Hong Kong-listed Chinese tech shares also declined, with Tencent dipping 0.13% and Meituan plunging 5.1%. The Hang Seng Tech index slipped 1.89% to 5,226.70.
The Shanghai composite in mainland China closed 0.96% lower at 3,457.15 and the Shenzhen component dropped 1.292% to 13,297.11.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan also saw sizable losses, closing 1.71% lower at 26,449.61 while the Topix index slipped 1.55% to 1,881.08. In South Korea, the Kospi fell 1.35% on the day to 2,706.79.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1%, ending the trading day at 7,161.30.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.53%.
Investors continued to monitor geopolitical tensions, after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered forces into two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine, following a Monday announcement that he would recognize their independence.
After that development, the White House responded, with U.S. President Joe Biden ordering sanctions against the separatist regions of Ukraine.
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The U.S. markets were closed for a holiday on Monday, though moves in stock futures stateside pointed to losses ahead for Wall Street at the Tuesday open.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 425 points, or 1.25%. S&P 500 futures fell 1.61% while Nasdaq-100 futures slipped 2.19%.
Currencies
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 96.242 following a recent bounce from below 95.8.
The Japanese yen traded at 114.80 per dollar, largely holding on to gains as compared to levels above 115.6 seen against the greenback last week. The Australian dollar was at $0.7202, off levels above $0.72 seen recently.
