(RTTNews) - Asian stocks mostly edged lower on Tuesday on concerns stimulus measures if withdrawn prematurely may undermine a global economic recovery.

After a fairly positive opening, most of the markets in the region drifted lower, with participants choosing to tread cautiously ahead of interest rates announcements from the U.S, U. K and Eurozone this week.

The Reserve Bank of Australia raised its interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.5 percent, but said it may pause its tightening cycle in December. Traders look forward to the outcome of the two-day monetary policy meeting from the U.S. Federal Reserve which starts Tuesday. The Japanese market was closed for a holiday.

China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite index, which tracks both A and B shares, ended up 1.2% or 38 points at 3,114 on optimism about manufacturing growth in the fourth quarter after a report by Caijing magazine showed the country’s four big banks ramped up lending last month. Listed companies that hold a stake in China Merchants Securities advanced after the latter started the roadshow Tuesday for an initial public offering to raise around CNY10 billion.

However, the Hong Kong market fell sharply, dragged down by banks and property developers. The benchmark Hang Seng index closed at 21,240, down 380 points or 1.76%. The IMF said Tuesday it expects Hong Kong’s gross domestic product to contract 2.0% this year versus a 3.5% decline it previously forecast.

The Australian market pared its initial gains to end mostly unchanged amid the interest rate decision. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closed at 4,531, down 9 points or 0.2% and the broader All Ordinaries index fell 0.13% to 4,540.

Big miner BHP Billiton and its rival Rio Tinto ended almost flat in positive territory. However, gold miners Lihir Gold and Newcrest Mining advanced by around 4% each after the precious metal rose to a record high.

Banking stocks closed mixed. National Australia Bank fell 1.76% and Westpac Banking Corp shed 0.63% ahead of its full-year earnings announcement on Wednesday, but Commonwealth Bank rose 0.73% and ANZ ended flat.

In the energy sector, Woodside Petroleum fell 1.12% and Santos slipped 0.27%, while Oil Search closed unchanged.

QBE Insurance fell nearly 4% after it cut back its projected insurance revenue growth. Macmahon Holdings surged up 7.48% and Leighton advanced 1.43% after they agreed to extend a memorandum of understanding over the partnering on large infrastructure projects. Department store chain Myer gained some lost ground after its plunge on debut on Monday.

The South Korean market ended in the red for the sixth consecutive session, dragged down by banks on concerns surrounding the CIT Group’s filing for bankruptcy protection over the weekend. KB Financial Group and Shinhan Financial Group ended down over 2% each.

The benchmark KOSPI closed at 1,550, down 9 points or 0.59% and losers outnumbered gainers by 422 to 364. While domestic institutions offloaded shares worth KRW366.3 billion on a net basis, foreign investors and local retail investors bought shares worth KR173.9 billion and KRW184.8 billion, respectively.

KT Corp. rose by a percent after reporting a 80% rise in its third-quarter net profit. LG Display advanced 2% on reports about its investment plans in China.

Chipmakers Samsung Electronics and Hynix Semiconductor gained on value buying amid hopes that prices of dynamic random access memory chips will rise further in November. Auto makers also closed on a postie note following losses in recent sessions.

The New Zealand market fell for a second straight session on concerns about a shaky global economic recovery. The benchmark NZX-50 closed at 3,159, down 25 points or 0.78%.

Infratil shed 3.6% after it held exclusive talks with the New Zealand Superannuation Fund for acquiring Royal Dutch Shell Group’s local refining and downstream businesses. New Zealand Refining, in which Shell owns a 17.1% stake, ended down 1.7%.

Retailer Michael Hill International fell 3%, Australia’s phone company Telstra Corp tumbled over 3%, children’s clothing chain Pumpkin Patch declined 1.5% and Auckland International Airport ended down 2.5%. Air New Zealand gained 1.6% after announcing a replacement for its domestic Boeing Co. 737 aircraft.

The Indian market moved in a choppy fashion before falling sharply in the afternoon. Disappointing earnings announced by some top bluechip companies and continued profit taking on valuation concerns weighed on market movement. The benchmark BSE Sensex was last trading at 15,443, down 454 points or 2.85%.

After a sharp setback on Friday, stocks on Wall Street showed modest gains overnight amid a slew of economic reports and some Fed comments on the financial sector.

While data on manufacturing activity in the month of October and the surge of the pending home sales index lifted sentiment, concerns voiced by Federal Reserve’s associate director about the state of the financial system capped gains to an extent. The Dow rose 0.79%, the S&P 500 advanced 0.65% and the Nasdaq edged up 0.2%.

Crude oil slipped below $78 a barrel in late Asian trading on Tuesday ahead of the release of fuel inventories data from the American Petroleum Institute later in the day.

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Posted in Categories: Australia, Eurozone, Japan, New Zealand, Releases, Stocks, UK, USA.

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