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View of the Skytree from Ueno and Asakusa in Tokyo
Jackal Pan | Moment | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were subdued Tuesday, tracking Wall Street's sell-off after U.S. President Donald Trump doubled down on his pressure campaign on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
Japan's Nikkei 225 as well as the Topix were trading flat. South Korea's Kospi fell 0.34% and the small-cap Kosdaq was marginally lower.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.63%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures were at 21,285, slightly weaker than the HSI's last close of 21,395.14.
U.S. stock futures were nearly flat. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 18 points. Both the S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures also traded near the flatline.
Overnight in the U.S., the three major averages fell following Trump's attacks on Powell, raising questions about the central bank's independence, while traders received few signs of progress on global trade talks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 971.82 points, or 2.48% to close at 38,170.41. The S&P 500 shed 2.36% and ended at 5,158.20, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 2.55% to settle at 15,870.90.
Powell noted last week that the Fed's independence is a "matter of law." Markets are trying to weigh how serious the termination threat is, versus jawboning for lower rates, ANZ economists wrote.
— CNBC's Lisa Kailai Han and Sean Conlon contributed to this report.
Stocks slide to end Monday's session
Stocks ended Monday in the red, although they came back from their session lows in the late afternoon.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 971.82 points, or 2.48%, to settle at 38,170.41. The S&P 500 shed 2.36% to finish at 5,158.20, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 2.55% and closed at 15,870.90.
— Lisa Kailai Han
Bitcoin climbs to its highest level of the month as stocks tumble
Bitcoin logo is seen in this illustration photo taken in Warsaw, Poland on 05 December, 2024.
Jaap Arriens | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Bitcoin hit its highest level of the month, reaching $88,557.01 at one point as the stock market sold off yet again. It was last trading about 3% higher at $87,040.70.
"This move is less about enthusiasm and more about exhaustion. Risk markets are rotating," said Ben Kurland, CEO at crypto research platform DYOR. "What we're seeing is a slow bleed from overextended positions into safer liquidity. Bitcoin's bounce isn't driven by momentum traders, it's the result of sidelined capital inching back into the market while equities digest macro uncertainty. In other words, risk isn't off, it's just being repriced."
Bitcoin was trading more in line with stocks for much of the month amid tariff-fueled volatility and uncertainty, but has slowly been decoupling. It's up about 5% in April while the S&P 500 is down more than 8% in that period. Meanwhile, gold is up 9.5% on the month.
If bitcoin can meaningfully clear the $88,000 level it would be a positive near-term development for the crypto asset, putting next resistance near $95,900, according to Fairlead Strategies' Katie Stockton.
— Tanaya Macheel
Dollar hits lowest level in three years
U.S. dollar banknotes
Jose Luis Gonzalez | Reuters
The ICE U.S. dollar index is trading at its lowest level in three years.
The latest drop for the greenback comes after Friday's criticism of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell from President Donald Trump. Krishna Guha, vice chairman at Evercore ISI, said Monday on "Squawk Box," said those comments by Trump could add more fuel to the trend of foreign investors pulling out of the U.S.
"We're seeing a clear signal from the market that it doesn't like even the idea that the president might try to remove the Fed chair. There has been some loss of confidence in U.S. economic policy making in recent weeks. We've seen that in this very odd combination of upward pressure at times on longer-term bond yields combined with a weaker dollar. That suggests global investors pulling capital out of the U.S.," Krishna Guha, vice chairman at Evercore ISI, said Monday on "Squawk Box."
— Jesse Pound
English (US)