Asian equities were subdued on Tuesday, retreating from recent highs as investors weighed the Federal Reserve’s cautious stance on interest rates and market jitters over President Donald Trump’s new H-1B visa fee.
Chinese stocks led regional losses as profit-taking followed a strong August rebound in tech shares. The CSI 300 dropped 1%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index also fell 1%. Baidu plunged 7%, Tencent slipped slightly, and Alibaba gained after unveiling a new AI model.
Trading across the region was thin due to Japan’s holiday. South Korea’s KOSPI rose 0.3%, Australia’s ASX 200 added 0.5% on stronger metals, while Singapore’s Straits Times Index was flat. India’s Nifty 50 fell 0.2% as concerns mounted that Trump’s visa measures could threaten the nation’s $300 billion outsourcing industry, pressuring Infosys and TCS shares.
Safe-haven demand pushed gold to fresh record highs. Still, optimism in tech partly cushioned sentiment: Nvidia pledged a $100 billion funding commitment to OpenAI, while Apple benefited from robust iPhone 17 demand—lifting TSMC and Foxconn shares by about 2%.
Markets now turn their focus to Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech later this week and U.S. inflation data for clues on the pace of potential rate cuts.
