Asia-Pacific markets mixed following negative start to the week

Shares in the Asia-Pacific were mixed on Tuesday after sharp falls on Monday. The Nikkei 225 in Japan rose 0.68%, and the Topix index gained 0.8%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 added 0.23%. South Korea’s Kospi struggled for direction and last lost 0.39%, while the Kosdaq gained 0.08%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index lost 0.17%, while the Shanghai Composite in mainland China rose 0.33% and the Shenzhen Component was 0.317% higher. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.13%. China’s industrial profits for January to August fell 2.1% from the same period a year ago, official data showed. Overnight in the U.S., major stock indexes dropped. The S&P 500 slipped 1.03% to 3,655.04, a new closing low for 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell into a bear market after it lost 329.60 points, or 1.11%, to 29,260.81. The Nasdaq Composite shed 0.6% to 10,802.92. “The sell-off in bonds and equities continued as sterling’s weakness highlighted the fragility of markets to policy uncertainty,” ANZ Research analysts wrote in a Tuesday note, a day after the pound hit a record low.