In Japan, where investors returned after a long weekend, the stock market closed at a loss on Tuesday. Concerns about an escalation of the US-China trade conflict and an increase in the Japanese yen, which is seen as a safe haven in troubled times, weighed on Japanese export companies. The other Asian stock markets also fell.
The leading Nikkei in Tokyo finished 1.1 percent in the minus at 20,455.44 points. Honda automaker and technology company TDK, which generate a lot of sales abroad, struggled with the more expensive yen and lost 2.4 percent and 3.1 percent. Bridgestone dropped 3.1 percent. The Japanese car tire maker lowered its profit forecast for this year due to a slowdown in demand in North America.
Steel manufacturer JFE Holdings fell more than 6 percent after a sharp drop in profit in the past quarter. The plagued Japanese screenmaker Japan Display plummeted more than 7 percent after the tenth quarter in a row.
The stock market in Shanghai was 0.8 percent lower in the meantime. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong, which has been demonstrating for weeks against the influence of China, fell 1.8 percent. Airline company Cathay Pacific fell 4.3 percent. Air traffic in Hong Kong was resumed on Tuesday, after the airport was closed on Monday due to the demonstrations. The share of Shenzhen Airport, on the other hand, increased 10 percent. The Kospi in Seoul lost 0.7 percent and the All Ordinaries in Sydney fell 0.3 percent.
