Investing.com - Asian Pacific shares opened mixed on Tuesday following a mixed finish for US indices as market participants looked ahead to key inflation data and earnings from Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) and Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT).
By 10:50 am AEST, 12:50 am GMT), the S&P/ASX 200 was flat, while the KOSPI 200 and Nikkei 225 added 0.2% and 2.3%, respectively.
In the United States, stock markets remained on edge Monday as Wall Street searched for direction after one of its wildest weeks in years.
Major indices fluctuated between minor gains and losses throughout the session before posting mixed results at the closing bell.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.4%, or about 141 points, while the S&P 500 finished roughly flat. Fueled by a jump in NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite eked out a 0.2% advance.
The relatively calm Monday provided investors with a breather following last week’s roller coaster, where a huge selloff eventually gave way to a rebound. Fresh data in the coming days will offer clues about the outlook for American consumers and the broader economy, with inflation data due Wednesday and retail sales reports coming on Thursday.
Investors will also look for quarterly results from Home Depot and Walmart for additional company-level insights.
The market for government debt showed some stability, with 10-year Treasury yields holding steady at 3.908%, suggesting investors aren't rushing to safe assets en masse.
However, Monday also saw oil prices jump at their fastest daily rate in 10 months amid heightened fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East. Benchmark US crude gained 4.2% to $80.06 a barrel after Israel put its military on high alert for potential attacks by Iran or Hezbollah.
In the commodity markets, Brent crude oil rose 3.3% to US$82.30 a barrel, while gold remained flat at US$2,472.81.
Chinese shares closed lower, weighed down by real estate and consumer services stocks. Investor sentiment, temporarily lifted last week by Shenzhen’s move to buy unsold apartments, failed to sustain in today's session. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.1% to 2,858.20, the Shenzhen Composite Index dropped 0.5%, and the ChiNext Price Index edged 0.2% lower. Poly Developments & Holdings fell 3.4%, and China Vanke declined 4.2%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed 0.1% higher at 17,111.65 in range-bound trading, swinging between positive and negative territories. Among gainers, Wuxi Biologics rose 3.7%, Lenovo Group gained 2.6%, and Orient Overseas (International) added 2.25%. Conversely, China Unicom (Hong Kong) fell 5.8%, Galaxy Entertainment Group lost 4.4%, and Sands China shed 2.9%.
Japanese stocks ended higher, led by gains in banks and trading houses as concerns about the US labor market eased. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group gained 3.7%, and Itochu Corp. climbed 6.1%. The Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.6% to 35,025.00. The 10-year Japanese government bond yield was up 2.5 basis points to 0.855%. Investors focused on earnings and potential escalations in Middle East conflicts.
Indian shares ended slightly lower, dragged by energy stocks. NTPC shed 2.4%, and Power Grid Corp of India fell 1.4%. Leading the gains were Axis Bank, which climbed 1.8%, Infosys, which rose 1.5%, and Tata Motors, which added 0.8%. Among individual movers, Ola Electric rose another 20%, adding to Friday's gain in its trading debut. The benchmark Sensex index fell 0.1% to 79,648.92.
Stocks in the UK rose on Monday, with the FTSE 100 Index gaining 0.5% to 8,210.25. BT Group (LON:BT) PLC was the biggest gainer, surging 8.4%, followed by Bakkavor Group PLC, which surged 4.4%, and Entain PLC, which gained 4.0%.
Elsewhere in Europe, markets closed mostly flat. The STOXX Europe 600 Index remained unchanged at 499.08, Germany's DAX held steady at 17,726.47, and France's CAC 40 fell 0.3% to 7,250.67.