Investing.com - Asia Pacific shares opened on a sour note Tuesday, echoing the losses across the three major US indices.
By 11:40 am AEDT (12:40 am GMT) The ASX 200, KOSPI 200, and Nikkei 225 all recorded declines between 0.6% and 1%.
In commodity markets, Brent crude oil fell 0.8% to US$78.28 a barrel while gold was down 2.1% to US$2,029.36. In local bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds was down at 4.11% while the 10 Year yield was also down at 4.44%. US Treasury notes were up, with the 2 Year yield at 4.63% and the 10 Year yield at 4.25%.
The Australian dollar hit 66.13 US cents down from the previous close of 66.73 while the US Dollar Index was at 103.6.
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In the US, the broader market averages closed lower overnight, burdened by losses in the technology and communication services sectors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 41 points to 36204, the S&P 500 lost 0.5% to 4569, and the NASDAQ Composite dropped 0.8% to 14185.
Semiconductor producers, including Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), and Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD), were among the biggest losers. Conversely, Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE:UBER) gained 2.2% as it prepares to join the S&P 500 index.
Chinese shares closed lower, led by property and pharmaceuticals stocks. In contrast, Indian shares ended higher, buoyed by state election results over the weekend.
Hong Kong shares ended lower amid concerns over China's economy, with investors keenly awaiting more economic data due later in the week.
The Nikkei Stock Average in Japan fell 0.6%, burdened by the strength of the yen, which impacts exporters' overseas earnings when repatriated to Japan.
European stocks also declined, primarily due to losses in oil shares as demand concerns and production uncertainty impacted crude-oil prices. The FTSE 100 ended Monday down 0.22%, with a weaker commodities sector weighing on the index.