Asia-Pacific markets mixed after sharp falls in previous session

Shares in the Asia-Pacific were mixed on Tuesday after sharp falls to start the week following Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s hawkish speech in Jackson Hole. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.87% and the Topix index gained 1%. The Kospi in South Korea added 0.3% and the Kosdaq increased 0.85%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.45% higher. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 1.52% with the Hang Seng Tech Index trading 2.3% lower, while mainland China markets were mixed. The Shanghai Composite was fractionally higher, and the Shenzhen Component shed 0.246% at the open. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.37% lower. Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 shed 0.67% to 4,030.61, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.02% to 12,017.67. The Dow Industrial Average dipped 184.41 points, or 0.57%, to 32,098.99. The Dow fell more than 300 points earlier in the session and briefly rose at one point. U.S. futures inched upward following a second-straight decline for the major averages. “It seems investors are still digesting the consequences from Fed Chair [Powell’s] hawkish speech where he not only refuted the notion of a dovish pivot but emphasized the need for rates to head higher and remain restrictive in order to bring inflation to heel,” Rodrigo Catril, a strategist at National Australia Bank, wrote in Tuesday note.