Asian Shares Follow US Peers Lower On Fed Worries

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks closed mostly lower on Tuesday to extend recent losses as investors waited for Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments on inflation and the rate outlook at the upcoming annual Jackson Hole economic symposium.

Surging natural gas prices in Europe also added to the angst over global growth.

Chinese shares swung between gains and losses before closing on a flat note. The benchmark Shanghai Composite finished marginally lower at 3,276.22 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.78 percent to settle at 19,503.25.

Japanese shares extended losses for a fourth consecutive session as a survey showed Japan's factory activity growth slowed to a 19-month low in August.

The Nikkei average fell 1.19 percent to 28,452.75 while the broader Topix index closed 1.06 percent lower at 1,971.44.

Rising Treasury yields weighed on tech stocks, with start-up investor SoftBank Group losing 2.4 percent. Hino Motors, a unit of Toyota Motor, plunged 6.4 percent after its engine-related misconduct widened to small trucks. Toyota Motor shares fell 2 percent.

Leisure-related airlines and retailers advanced after reports about possible easing of pandemic-related border rules. Japan Airlines and J.Front Retailing rose around 5 percent each.

Seoul stocks tumbled on U.S. rate hike worries amid continued hawkish rhetoric from Fed officials. The Kospi average dipped 1.10 percent to 2,435.34, extending losses for a fifth straight session.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics gave up 1.5 percent and No. 2 chipmaker SK Hynix lost 1.68 percent after data showed exports of semiconductors declined 7.5 percent year-on-year in the first 20 days of August amid a fall in chip prices.

Samsung SDI, Samsung Biologics, LG Chem and Celltrion fell 2-3 percent as President Yoon Suk-yeol called for in-depth and swift countermeasures to various macroeconomic challenges facing the country.

Australian markets ended lower as a survey showed the manufacturing sector in the country expanded at a slower rate in August. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dipped 1.21 percent to 6,961.80 while the broader All Ordinaries index settled 1.21 percent lower at 7,199.20.

Altium shares jumped nearly 20 percent after the PCB design software firm reported upbeat full-year results and raised revenue outlook.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index closed down 1.03 percent at 11,643.21 as inflationary fears returned to the fore.

U.S. stocks posted their worst daily drop in two months overnight amid worries about recession and the outlook for interest rates.

The Dow lost 1.9 percent, the S&P 500 fell 2.1 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slumped 2.6 percent.