Investing.com – Asian stocks slipped in morning trade on Tuesday amid concerns that new elections in Italy might spark fresh discussion over a break-up of the region's single currency.
The anti-establishment 5-Star and League parties gave up plans to form a government. Meanwhile, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is set to face a vote of confidence in his leadership on Friday, according to reports on Monday.
“It is clear that the bitter political battle (in Italy) will continue,” ANZ analysts said in a note. “In this environment, uncertainty and market turbulence look set to continue.”
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1% by 9:40PM ET (01:40 GMT). Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is planning to meet U.S. President Donald Trump at the G-7 conference in Quebec on June 8-9, reports on Tuesday suggested, adding that South Korean President Moon Jae-in is considering to travel to Singapore for a three-way summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Trump next month.
Meanwhile, government data showed on Tuesday that the country’s jobless rate held steady at 2.5% in April, in line with expectations while the availability of jobs also remained unchanged.
Automaker Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (T:7201) made headlines after reports revealed the company is cutting production by as much as 20% in North America by autumn.
Japan Display Inc (T:6740) shares dived more than 20% after South Korea media reported that Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had decided to use OLED screens for all new iPhone models starting next year.
Elsewhere, China’s Shanghai Composite and the SZSE Component were down 0.3% and 0.2% respectively. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.5%.