Asian markets followed Wall Street, which on Monday had its worst day in nearly a month, falling from record highs (Philip FONG)
<p>Hong Kong (AFP) – Asia stocks were down Tuesday in thin end-of-year trading, following a subdued lead from the US as investors took profits. </p><p>Wall Street on Monday had its worst day in nearly a month, falling from record highs after the extended rally of recent days.</p><p>Hong Kong ended a half-day of trading almost 0.5 percent down, although the bourse rallied 7.1 percent overall in December, according to Bloomberg. </p><p>Shanghai was marginally down, Taipei was also off and Sydney shed almost two percent.</p><p>Jakarta, Tokyo, Manila, Seoul and Bangkok were all closed for a public holiday.</p><p>"While market volumes are predictably light, investors continue to strike a year-end cautionary tone as December optimism is gradually giving way to 2020’s uncertainty," Stephen Innes, chief Asia market strategist at AxiTrader, said in a note.</p><p>Asian investors were also watching for key policy announcements early in the New Year.</p><p>North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is set to give his New Year’s speech on Wednesday, with all eyes on nuclear-armed Pyongyang’s threat of a "new way" after its end-of-year deadline for sanctions relief from the US, analysts said.</p><p>China’s Xi Jinping is also scheduled to give a New Year’s address.</p><p>In China, the closely watched Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), a gauge of activity in the country’s factories, was at 50.2 in December, according to official data published Tuesday.</p><p>The reading — slightly above the 50-point mark that separates growth and contraction — beat a forecast of 50.1 by analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, comes amid a thaw in the US-China trade spat.</p><p>Reports on Monday said the US and China would shortly sign a partial trade deal, with White House economic aide Peter Navarro telling Fox News the signing could occur "within a week or two".</p><p>"The P1 deal is still ‘skinny’ relative to a full trade de-escalation scenario," cautioned AxiTrader’s Innes.</p><p>"Investors will then press to consider the P2 risks, after all — how much more progress can be realistically expected ahead of the US elections next year?"</p><p>Oil markets were largely unchanged, despite reports Iran had seized a vessel suspected of smuggling fuel near the Strait of Hormuz — a chokepoint for a third of the world’s seaborne oil.</p><p>Traders were also waiting for the release of US crude production data later Tuesday. </p><p></p><p>- Key figures around 0430 GMT -</p><p></p><p>Hong Kong – Hang Seng: DOWN 0.46 percent at 28,189.75 (close)</p><p>Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.04 percent at 3,038.93</p><p>Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3122 from $1.3127</p><p>Euro/pound: UP at 85.385 pence from 85.356 pence</p><p>Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1203 from $1.1204 </p><p>Dollar/yen: UP at 108.70 yen from 108.66 yen</p><p>Brent Crude: UP 0.4 percent at $68.44 per barrel</p><p>West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.1 percent at $61.63 per barrel</p><p>New York – Dow: DOWN 0.6 percent at 28,462.14 (close)</p><p>New York – Nasdaq: DOWN 0.7 percent at 8,945.99 (close)</p><p>New York – S&amp;P 500: DOWN 0.6 percent at 3,221.29 (close)</p><p></p>

Disclaimer: Validity of the above story is for 7 Days from original date of publishing. Source: AFP.