Asian shares retreat as Chinese growth concerns sink in

Annabelle Liang, The Associated Press</span>
Published Tuesday, October 23, 2018 12:16AM EDT

SINGAPORE -- Asian stocks slid on Tuesday as worries about softening Chinese growth rattled investors, following a rally that was not picked up by Wall Street overnight.

KEEPING SCORE: Japan's Nikkei 225 index gave up 2.0 per cent to 22,154.29 and the Kospi in South Korea tumbled 2.4 per cent to 2,108.77. The Shanghai Composite index, which closed more than 4 per cent higher in the previous session, fell 1.4 per cent to 2,616.55. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 2.0 per cent to 25,622.83. Australia's S&P-ASX 200 dipped 0.9 per cent to 5,852.00. Shares fell in Taiwan and throughout Southeast Asia.

WALL STREET: Broad losses for banks, health care and energy companies pulled most U.S. indexes lower after early gains on Monday. The S&P 500 index suffered its fourth straight loss, dropping 0.4 per cent to 2,755.88. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.5 per cent to 25,317.41, while the Nasdaq composite finished 0.3 per cent higher at 7,468.63. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks shed 0.2 per cent to 1,539.00, its lowest close since April.

U.S. EARNINGS: Traders are readying for a flurry of earnings reports that would show how American businesses are coping with rising interest rates, inflation and the impact of trade disputes. Close to 17 per cent of companies on the S&P 500 have reported earnings for the third quarter, and over half of them did better than expected. This week, big names like Caterpillar, Amazon, Microsoft, Twitter and Google's parent company, Alphabet, will post their latest results.

CHINESE ECONOMY: Chinese benchmarks led a rebound by Asian markets on Monday, but investors have since started to price in weaker-than-expected performance in the third quarter. China's economy grew at a 6.5 per cent annual pace, its slowest since 2009, official data showed. The Trump administration has raised tariffs on most Chinese goods sold to the U.S., ranging from soybeans to electric cars and whiskey.

ANALYST'S TAKE: "Asian markets opened lower following weak U.S. session overnight, as rising geopolitical uncertainties outweigh earnings optimism," Margaret Yang, market analyst at CMC Markets in Singapore, said in an interview.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude lost 12 cents to $69.24 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract added 8 cents to settle at $69.36 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, fell 33 cents to $79.50 per barrel. In the previous session, it gained 5 cents to $79.83 a barrel.

CURRENCIES: The dollar weakened to 112.57 yen from 112.82 yen on Monday. The euro fell to $1.1457 from $1.1465.

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AP Business Writer Alex Veiga contributed to this report.

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