Asian stock markets were down in early trading Tuesday, as Japanese stocks gave up early gains and Hong Kong stocks sank as tensions between the U.S. and China rose.
After rising about 0.5% early on, Japan’s Nikkei NIK, +0.00% was last about flat, as the dollar remained right around ¥114 USDJPY, +0.00% , the highest level of 2018. A weaker yen is seen as good for Japan’s export-reliant companies. The likes of Toyota 7203, +1.64% , Honda 7267, +1.14% and Nintendo 7974, +0.19% all logged initial advances of about 1%.
Hong Kong stocks were sharply lower following a holiday weekend and a fifth straight month of declines, the longest slide in three years.The Hang Seng HSI, -1.53% was down 1.4%. Big banks lagged, with HSBC 0005, -1.81% and China Construction Bank 0939, -2.49% down some 2%. Mainland China markets were closed for a weeklong holiday.
South Korea’s Kospi SEU, -0.60% gave up early gains, and fell 0.6%, following the lead of index behemoth Samsung 005930, -0.65% .
Benchmarks in Australia XJO, -0.81% , New Zealand NZ50GR, -0.31% , Taiwan Y9999, -1.01% and Singapore STI, -0.20% also fell.
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