Asian stocks mixed ahead of tech earnings reports

Asian stocks had a mixed performance on Tuesday due to volatile trading as investors were preparing for three days of tech mega cap earnings reports on Wall Street, starting with Google parent Alphabet.

The dollar remained near a three-month high, with the JOLTS job openings report and non-farm payrolls data in focus. US Treasury yields also eased from recent peaks.

The yen stabilised after a recent drop to a three-month low due to uncertainty surrounding Japanese fiscal and monetary policies following the coalition government’s poor election results.

The Nikkei rose 0.65 per cent at 0213 GMT, following a 1.82 per cent increase in the previous session. It initially dropped 0.21 per cent at the start of the day.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng also climbed 0.65 per cent, while Mainland Chinese blue chips fell 0.1 per cent after an early gain.

In the US election, polls remain tight, with some predicting a victory for Republican Donald Trump over Democrat Kamala Harris, though the outcome is still uncertain.

Crude oil prices slightly recovered after a recent decline, as tensions in the Middle East eased following Israel’s restrained response to Iran over the weekend, avoiding targeting oil and nuclear facilities.

Attribution: Reuters

Subediting: M. S. Salama