TOKYO - Asian shares sank on Tuesday, as worries about the Chinese property sector weighed on markets from Hong Kong to Australia, while Japanese investors sold chip stocks on their return from a holiday-extended weekend.
Japanese markets were closed Monday, when Asian tech stocks sold off following a Reuters report that TSMC had asked its major vendors to delay deliveries."The one thing you were almost certain of was that demand for semiconductors was only one way," he said. Property services provider Country Garden Services Holdings, though, was among the worst performers on the Hang Seng, dropping about 2%.Australia's stock benchmark dropped 0.4%, sagging under the weight of mining stocks amid pessimism over Chinese demand.Weakness in Asia came despite small gains for Wall Street overnight, with U.S. stock futures flat. [.N]
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.