Asian stocks open lower as markets focus on interest rates
Stocks fell across Asia on Tuesday as markets focused on the prospect of a prolonged period of elevated global interest rates.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 2.8 percent after resuming trading following a holiday on Monday. Japan’s Topix lost 1.1 percent.
Markets in mainland China and South Korea were closed for holidays.
What to see in Asia today
The Reserve Bank of Australia will make a rate decision on Tuesday. The central bank is expected to keep interest rates at 4.1%, an 11-year high © Daniel Munoz/PortalChina Evergrande: The troubled property developer’s shares are expected to resume trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Trading was suspended last Thursday when Evergrande said unspecified “compulsory measures” had been imposed on its billionaire CEO Hui Ka Yan on suspicion of “illegal crimes.”
South Korea: Financial markets are closed for National Founding Day, a holiday celebrating the legendary founding of the first Korean state of Gojoseon in 2333 B.C. BC
Reserve Bank of Australia: The central bank makes an interest rate decision. Economists expect the key interest rate to remain at 4.1 percent, an 11-year high.
WeWork is waiving interest payments to lure landlords to the negotiating table
WeWork said on Monday it had missed $95 million in interest payments as the debt-laden US real estate group teeters on the brink of bankruptcy and tries to lure its creditors and landlords to the negotiating table.
The SoftBank-backed company said missing the payments would allow it to “hold discussions with certain stakeholders” as it works on a plan to reduce its financial obligations, a large portion of which are leasing costs.
Last month, WeWork said it would renegotiate virtually all of its leases, telling landlords that its rent spending was “dramatically out of line with current market conditions.”
UN Security Council approves mission to combat Haitian gangs
Police use tear gas during a protest against insecurity in Carrefour-Feuilles, a district of Port-au-Prince. Kenya said it would lead a UN police mission © AFP via Getty ImagesAfter a year of deadlock on the issue, the UN Security Council has approved a security mission to combat gangs in Haiti. China and Russia abstained, while the other 13 member countries voted in favor.
Kenya has pledged to lead the mission with 1,000 police officers, while some Caribbean countries have also pledged support. The US said it would support the mission but not send troops.
The vote comes amid the catastrophic security situation in Haiti, where up to 200 gangs control large parts of the cities and regularly kidnap people for ransom.
The EU candidate for climate chief wants global taxes on fossil fuels
The EU’s candidate for climate chief has proposed taxing fossil fuels worldwide, including those used by the airline and shipping industries, to provide money for a fund to help developing countries suffering from carbon pollution.
Wopke Hoekstra, the former Dutch foreign minister, said at a confirmation hearing with EU lawmakers on Monday that he would try to boost international talks on the planned “loss and damage” fund by proposing to raise money for it through fuel levies.
International agreements exempt global transport from fuel taxes, although the EU’s emissions trading scheme covers aviation and will be extended to shipping next year.
Read more here.
Oil hits 3-week low on fears high interest rates could curb fuel demand
A driver fills up a car with gasoline in Havana. Brent crude fell 1.6% to $90.71 a barrel on Monday and U.S. crude was down 2.2% at $88.82. © Yamil Lage/AFP via Getty ImagesOil prices fell to their lowest level in three weeks on fears that a prolonged period of high U.S. interest rates could weaken the economy and curb demand for the commodity.
Brent crude fell 1.6 percent to $90.71 a barrel on Monday and U.S. crude ended 2.2 percent lower at $88.82.
The fall in oil prices in recent days reverses a trend of rising prices since June following the announcement of coordinated production cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia.
US stocks close higher as late rally in Big Tech pushes S&P 500 higher
U.S. stocks closed higher in a choppy trading session marked by the resumption of a recent bond market sell-off that pushed longer-term Treasury yields to a 16-year high.
The S&P 500 rebounded late to close slightly higher after spending most of the afternoon session in negative territory. Declines in the energy and utilities sectors eased, but they remained the worst performers of the benchmark index.
Gains across all Big Tech stocks in the Magnificent Seven also contributed, including a late rally in Tesla that pushed the electric vehicle maker’s shares into profit. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.7 percent on the day.