Singapore — Asian equities fell to two-and-a-half-year lows on Tuesday as early gains inspired by a rally on Wall Street on hopes the Federal Reserve could be nearing the end of aggressive rate increases were offset by weakness in Chinese shares and the yuan.
Equities were mixed in Asia, with Japan’s advancing 0.7% and South Korea rising 0.3% but Taiwan was down 0.7% and Hong Kong shed 0.6%. However, Chinese stocks fell further on Tuesday after Xi Jinping’s new leadership team raised worries that a more powerful party leadership will prioritise the state at the cost of the private sector.
China’s onshore yuan slid to a near 15-year low, after the central bank set the lowest midpoint since 2008 after Monday’s sell-off in Chinese assets.