South Korea’s export growth slowed in September, with shipments to the United States barely increasing, in an outcome that may support market expectations for an easing of monetary policy as early as next week.
Mongkol Chuewong | Moment | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets opened lower Tuesday after Wall Street fell overnight as Trump tariffs stoke a risk-off mood, while investors awaited the Bank of Korea’s rate decision.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.87%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 1.34%, while the Topix slipped 0.72%.
South Korea’s Kospi traded 0.88% lower while the small-cap Kosdaq fell 0.98%.
The Bank of Korea is expected to cut rates by 25 basis points in its meeting later in the day, according to a Reuters poll. The BOK could “prioritize economic growth stabilization over external financial imbalance risks amid stable inflation,” according to Citi analysts.
South Korea has been facing political uncertainty, stemming from the impeachment proceedings against President Yoon Suk Yeol after his short-lived imposition of martial law in December.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were at 22,824, also below the HSI’s last close of 23,341.61.
Overnight in the U.S., the markets failed to spring back from last Friday’s sell-off. The broad market index lost 0.5%, closing at 5,983.25. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.21%, ending the session at 19,286.92. The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 33.19 points, or 0.08%, to close at 43,461.21.
Ongoing concerns about U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war with key trading partners continued to weigh on market sentiment. Trump on Monday declared that tariffs on Canada and Mexico will be implemented once the one-month delay period concludes next week.
—CNBC’s Hakyung Kim and Jesse Pound contributed to this report.