Asian stock indexes were trading lower to start the day on Tuesday after Wall Street failed to close higher. Traders were eagerly awaiting an announcement from the Bank of Japan at the end of the central bank’s monthly policy meeting, and caution was steering the markets into choppy waters. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 0.33 percent as of 10:13 a.m. HK/SIN. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 0.50 percent at the same time. The Shanghai Composite eased 0.36 percent, but South Korea’s Kospi remained unchanged. Australia’s ASX 200 was the only major index trading higher, gaining 0.07 percent.
On Wall Street, the Nasdaq saw its third consecutive loss of over 1 percent on Monday for the first time in three years. The index hit a three-week low on Monday, pressured by losses in the tech sector which is a large part of the index. The index lost a total of 1.4 percent on the day. The S&P 500 lost 0.6 percent on Monday, also weighed down by the tech sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6 percent, dragged down by losses in the payment processor section. Despite the losses, all major Wall Street remained in positive territory for July, giving the bulls a reason to think that there may be some wind left in the market’s sails. Traders are also looking towards Apple’s report after the bell on Tuesday which may give a glimpse into how President Trump’s tariffs are impacting the greater technology sector.