SYDNEY- Asian shares were mostly higher on Tuesday after recent losses, while the battered yen hit a record low versus the euro, although the risk of intervention stemmed further weakness against the US dollar.
With the first US presidential debate on Thursday and the first round of voting in the French election at the weekend, investors remain cautious of how political shifts in major economies could impact their positions.
Europe is set to open mixed, with EUROSTOXX 50 futures falling 0.3 percent but the FTSE was up 0.1 percent .
Nasdaq futures rebounded 0.3 percent , having tumbled over 1 percent overnight thanks to a 7 percent drop in AI bellwether Nvidia The Dow Jones Industrial Average however, rallied 0.7 percent to a one-month high as investors added value stocks, which have been laggards in the recent tech-driven rally, to their portfolios.
On Tuesday, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.5 percent after three straight sessions of declines, helped by a 1.1 percent rise in Australia’s resources heavy shares <.AXJO >.
Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.9 percent , Taiwanese stocks which dropped more than 1 percent earlier in the session, clawed back lost ground and were last up 0.3 percent . Chinese shares were slightly lower, after oscillating between gains and losses.
“It’s difficult to extrapolate what can be attributed to technical factors and what’s fundamentals in the markets, with price action apparently driven by end-of-month and end-of-quarter positioning,” said Kyle Rodda, a senior analyst at Capital.com.
“A sell-down in tech, despite little shift in rates expectations and the outlook for earnings, may signal a trimming by investors of the quarter’s big winners.”
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.4 percent , after a recent leg lower found a floor near two-month lows.
However, China’s economic recovery is still fragile. Reports said e-commerce sales declined for the first time during the so-called 618 shopping festival that ended last week.
