Asian Stocks Slightly Higher But Evergrande Crisis Weigh On Chinese Markets

(RTTNews) - The stocks markets in the Asia-Pacific region, except the Chinese markets, are up marginally in positive territory on Tuesday, with investors looking ahead to the upcoming monetary policy meetings of several central banks, and some key economic data, for clues about the likely timing of interest rate cuts.

Energy stocks are gaining ground on higher oil prices amid rising geopolitical tensions.

The Chinese markets are hurt by real estate major China Evergrande's liquidation order.

The Hang Seng index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange is down 323.25 points or 2.01% at 15,753.99, about 100 points off the session's low.

China's Shanghai Composite Index is down 17.76 points or 0.62% at 2865.60.

In the Australian market, the S&P/ASX 200 is up 20.20 points or 0.27% at 7,598.60 and the broader All Ordinaries index is gaining 25.50 points or 0.33% at 7,833.80.

Megaport is soaring more than 28%. Mineral Resources, Sonic Healthcare, ResMed and Fortescue Metals are up 1 to 2%.

Rio Tinto, Altium, WiseTech Global, Pro Medicus, Endeavour, Transurban and Ramsay Healthcare are up with moderate gains.

Perpetual, CSR, Suncorp, QBE, Bendigo & Adelaide Bank, and AIA are down in negative territory with sharp to moderate losses.

On the economic front, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that the total value of retail sales in Australia was down a seasonally adjusted 2.7% on month at A$35.187 billion in December. That missed expectations for a decline of 1% following the downwardly revised 1.6% gain in November (originally 2%).

On a yearly basis, retail sales were up 0.8% in December, the data showed.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 is up, extending gains from the previous session. Investors are digesting the data on Japan's unemployment, in addition to tracking corporate updates.

The Nikkei 225 is higher by 78.06 points or about 0.2% at 36,105,00.

Trend Micro, Mitsui OSK Lines, Kawasaki Kisen, Shin-etsu Chemicals, Tokio Marine, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Nippon Electric Glass, MS&AD Insurance, Advantest Corp., Minebea, Sumitomo Realty & Development and Fast Retailing are up 1 to 3%.

Among the prominent losers, Isuzu Motors, Sumitomo Dainippon and Fanuc are declining 2 to 2.5%.

Toppan, Chughi Pharma, Hino Motors, Konica Minolta, Recruit Holdings, Resona Holdings, Nissan Chemicals, Chiba Bank and Nippon Express are down 1 to 2%.

According to the data released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the unemployment rate in Japan came in at a seasonally adjusted 2.4% in December. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to come in at 2.5%, unchanged from November.

The South Korean market is up marginally, with the benchmark KOSPI gaining 2.45 points or 0.1% at 2,503.10.

The markets in Indonesia and Singapore are up in positive territory with modest gains, while Malaysia and New Zealand are roughly flat.

On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Monday. The Dow and the S&P 500 set new record closing highs, while the Nasdaq reached its best closing level in two years.

A notable pullback by treasury yields contributed a bit to market's uptick.

The Dow climbed 224.02 points or 0.6% to 38,333.45, the Nasdaq jumped 172.68 points or 1.1% to 15,628.04 and the S&P 500 advanced 36.96 points or 0.8% to 4,927.93.