The Chinese property sector weighed on markets, resulting in a 1.2% drop in the Hang Seng developers subindex at one stage.
Japan’s Nikkei tumbled 1.1% under the weight of big losses for chip-related stocks including Tokyo Electron and Advantest. In one positive development, Country Garden won approval from creditors to extend repayment on another onshore bond, the last in the batch of eight bonds it has been seeking extensions for, sources said. The stock climbed about 1%.
Traders are all but certain the Fed will leave rates steady again at the conclusion of a two-day meeting that begins later Tuesday, but are split on the chances on another quarter-point increase by year-end.