Investing.com – Asian equities were mixed in a choppy afternoon session on Tuesday as the mixed performance by U.S. stocks overnight cooled investors’ risk appetite.
Reports that U.S. president Trump blocked Singapore-based semiconductor maker Broadcom Ltd (NASDAQ:AVGO)’s bid to buy Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) took centre stage as Trump ended what would have been the biggest deal in the technology industry based on ground national security.
Focus now turns to the U.S. CPI data that are due later in the day as investors continued to look for clues to gauge inflation trends and guides for the upcoming Fed policy.
The S&P 500 closed 0.1% lower, the Dow slipped 0.6% while the Nasdaq added 0.4%.
Japan’s cronyism scandal involving prime minister Shinzo Abe and finance minister Taro Aso continued to receive attention as Aso was reportedly considering to skip a G20 meeting in Buenos Aires next week. Aso and Abe were under pressure after news on Monday suggested the finance ministry had altered a state-own land’s sale record that tied to Abe’s wife. It was reported earlier in the day that Aso said he had no intention to resign. The Nikkei closed 0.7% higher at 21,968.10.
China’s regulatory reform made headlines as a parliament document released on Tuesday showed it would merge its banking and insurance regulators as part of a wide range overhaul, and create a new agricultural and rural village ministry. The country’s data on industrial production, retail sales and fixed-asset investment are due on Wednesday. The Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen Component slipped 0.2% and 0.1% respectively by 1:30am ET.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index traded 0.2% lower. Mainland finance and banking firms traded higher, with news on China’s regulatory reform being cited as tailwind.
Reports that the Hong Kong Exchange and MSCI were said to be planning new Asian futures that would track hundreds of Asian companies received moderate attention.
Down under, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 also slid 0.4% at the close, weighed by banks and miners.
Elsewhere, Singapore-based Noble Group Ltd (SI:NOBG) made headlines again as the commodity trader was reportedly trying to reach a deal with its creditors before a $379 million bond matures on 20 March.