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A man looks at an electronic board displaying stock prices of the Nikkei 225 listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo on April 30, 2024.
Kazuhiro Nogi | Afp | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets slid on Tuesday, tracking losses in the U.S. following anxiety over tariff policy and a potential recession in the world's largest economy.
Japanese markets led losses in the region, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 falling over 2% shortly after the open, while the broader Topix index fell 1.57%.
The country's revised GDP for the fourth quarter came in at 2.2% on an annualized basis, below economists' expectations and the previous estimate of 2.8% growth.
South Korea's Kospi started the day 1.78% lower, while the small-cap Kosdaq plunged 2.11%.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell around 1.28% in early trade, reversing course from gains in the previous session.
Futures for Hong Kong's Hang Seng index stood at 23,321 pointing to a slightly weaker open compared to its Monday close of 23,783.49.
Overnight in the U.S., stocks slid amid fears that Trump's tariff policy could push the U.S. into a recession.
The S&P 500 shed 2.7%, after touching its lowest level since September at one point. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite saw the sharpest decline, falling 4%, in its worst session since September 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2.08%, ending at 41,911.71.
The S&P 500 is off 8.7% from its all-time high on Feb. 19, while the Nasdaq Composite is off nearly 14% from its recent high. A 10% decline is considered a correction on Wall Street.
The losses worsened as the day progressed, but the major averages came off their session lows just before the close.
— CNBC's Lisa Kailai Han and Jesse Pound contributed to this report.
Nikkei slides 2%
Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell around 2% shortly after the open on Tuesday.
Nikkei 225
Japan revises fourth-quarter GDP lower, complicating BOJ’s interest rate outlook
Japan's economic growth slowed to 2.2% on an annualized basis in the fourth quarter, complicating the central bank's case for a further interest rate hike in the near term.
The revised data came in lower than economists' median forecast and the initial estimate of 2.8% growth.
On a quarter-to-quarter basis, GDP expanded 0.6%, compared with a 0.7% growth in preliminary data released last month, the Cabinet Office's revised data showed on Tuesday.
Read the full story, here.
— Anniek Bao
There's irony in foreign markets outperforming U.S. equities, Oppenheimer says
Oppenheimer Asset Management believes investors may be disproportionately rewarding ex-U.S. assets in the wake of President Trump's new tariffs.
"Ironically, since the beginning of the year, foreign markets around the world and particularly in Europe are outperforming the U.S. equity markets as the world frets over the potential effects of tariffs should they be broadly deployed by the Trump Administration," wrote chief investment strategist John Stoltzfus. "We see some irony in the recent outperformance by foreign markets over the U.S. markets. In our view, foreign companies in Europe, Asia, and Latin America are likely to suffer even more from deployment of tariffs than companies in the U.S."
— Lisa Kailai Han
Palantir declines 10% as investors dump onetime favorite
Palantir dropped more than 10% on Monday as the latest cult stock showed signs of sputtering out.
The defense tech stock is now within striking distance of its flatline for 2025. That marks a turn after shares surged more than 340% last year, making it the top S&P 500 performer.
Palantir, 1-day
Palantir has become a favorite of retail investors in recent months. Part of that optimism is tied to the quirky persona of CEO Alex Karp, who often directly addresses mom-and-pop traders.
The stock shot up following President Trump's victory in November. Some pointed out that Peter Thiel, who co-founded of PayPal with billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, has chaired Palantir's board for more than two decades.
— Alex Harring
English (US)