Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Tuesday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders continued to worry about the economic outlook ahead of next week's US Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting. The new wave of COVID-19 infections in China also continues to hurt market sentiment amid supply and demand concerns. The Asian markets closed mostly higher on Monday.
The Australian stock market is slightly lower in a choppy session on Tuesday, giving up some of the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying below the 6,700 level, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, dragged by plunging technology stocks, partially offset by strength in energy and materials stocks.
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April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.