A bronze bull statue outside the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai, India, on Monday, June 3, 2024. India’s stock futures jumped after exit polls indicated a resounding victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party in general elections that concluded Saturday. Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg via Getty Images
This is CNBC's live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.
Asia-Pacific markets slipped on Tuesday, trailing a mixed session on Wall Street.
Investors saw a light day in terms of economic data out of Asian countries. Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor India made its trading debut after a record IPO.
Shares were trading down at 1,860 rupees from their initial public offering price of 1,960 rupees, according to BSE data. The automaker had offered 142.19 million shares at a price band of 1,865 Indian rupees ($22.18) to 1,960 rupees. The IPO fetched 278.56 billion rupees, or $3.3 billion.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 1.36%, while South Korea's Kospi slipped 1.21% and its small cap Kosdaq lost 2.11%.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 1.34%, while the broad based Topix was trading down 1.04%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was close to the flatline, while the mainland Chinese CSI 300 inched down 0.13%.
Money Report
During the U.S. trading session, two Federal Reserve officials had spoken about the trajectory of interest rates.
Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, noting the U.S.' resilient economy and strong labor market, said the longer term trajectory for interest rates could be higher than it has in the past.
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Dallas Federal Reserve President Lorie Logan said she supports the current move to lowering interest rates, but that a patient approach will be needed.
Overnight in the U.S., stocks ended mixed as Treasury yields rose and investors awaited new earnings reports.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.18% and the 30-stock Dow lost 0.8%, and snapped a three-day run of winning sessions. The Nasdaq Composite was the outlier, rising 0.27%.
— CNBC's Pia Singh and Sarah Min contributed to this report.
Hyundai Motor India’s shares drop over 5% on trading debut
Hyundai Motor India shares fell more than 5% on their trading debut Tuesday after a $3.3 billion initial public offering, the country's largest-ever by amount raised.
The IPO fetched 278.56 billion rupees, or $3.3 billion.
Shares were trading down at 1,860 rupees from their initial public offering price of 1,960 rupees, according to BSE data.
Find out more in the full story here.
— Lim Hui Jie
Gold is now in a 'new bullish phase,' analysts say
Gold is in a "new bullish phase," said asset management firm Sprott Asset Management, after the yellow metal hit a record high.
This sentiment is also shared by other analysts, who forecast that bullion will continue to climb.
"Gold has entered a new bullish phase, driven by factors like central bank buying, rising U.S. debt and a potential peak in the U.S. dollar," Paul Wong, market strategist at Sprott Asset Management, wrote in a note.
Gold hit a fresh record of $2,700 per ounce on Monday.
— Lim Hui Jie
Investors should not overreact to Harris-Trump 'jawboning' ahead of election: Ninety One
South Korea producer prices see slowest rise since November 2023
South Korea's September producer prices rose at its slowest pace since November 2023, registering a 1% rise compared to the same period last year.
On a monthly basis, the PPI fell 0.2%, marking a second straight month of decline.
The producer price index tracks the changes in prices between producers, compared to the consumer price index, which tracks changes in consumer prices.
— Lim Hui Jie
CNBC Pro: As gold hits another record high, the pros reveal their outlook for the precious metal
Macroeconomic uncertainties, mounting geopolitical tensions and a desire to hedge against inflation have given gold — the classic "safe haven" asset — a blistering rally.
Spot gold prices have soared above $2,700 an ounce, rallying for the fifth day on Monday to hit another record high of over $2,733 an ounce. Year-to-date, spot gold is up over 30%.
And Michael Widmer, head of metals research at Bank of America, says it has further to go.
'If gold doesn't rally now, then I'm not sure when it ever will. Actually, I think the fundamental backdrop looks actually quite good," he told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" on Monday.
Others like John Reade, senior markets strategist at the World Gold Council, urge some caution.
CNBC Pro subscribers can discover more here.
— Amala Balakrishner
CNBC Pro: Scotiabank says its 3 biotech 'top pick' stocks have more than 100% upside potential
Scotiabank has highlighted three biotechnology companies as their "top picks," each with the potential to more than double in stock price over the next 12 months.
The bank believes interest rate cuts are a notable tailwind that will likely reignite wider investment interest in the biotech sector.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Ganesh Rao
JPMorgan issues short-term buy call on China electric car stock
JPMorgan sees some near-term catalysts leading to a big rally in Xpeng shares.
Shares rose nearly 2% in morning trading after analyst Nick Lai, who has an overweight rating on the Chinese electric vehicle maker, added Xpeng to the Wall Street bank's positive catalyst watch list in a 17-page report out Sunday. His price target implied roughly 34% upside from the stock's close on Friday.
"In addition to our positive sector stance into the year-end (i.e. 35% QoQ PV growth in 4Q24 vs. seasonality ~20%, click here), XPeng's upcoming new product strategy, advancing in-house technology and solid 3Q earnings as well as strength in 4Q vehicle delivery should altogether support its share price," the analyst wrote.
CNBC PRO subscribers can read more here.
— Sean Conlon
Uncertainty surrounding November election is 'no reason to exit the market,' says UBS
Despite a tight U.S. presidential election remaining too close to call, UBS remains constructive on equities and does not think any uptick in volatility could harm a strong market.
"As neither party holds a clear advantage in any of the key swing states that could decide the outcome, the race remains too close to call, and we expect volatility to pick up in the coming weeks amid elevated uncertainty," UBS Global Wealth Management chief investment officer Solita Marcelli wrote Monday. "But we also think the potential volatility is unlikely to derail positive equity fundamentals, and remind investors not to make dramatic portfolio changes based on expected election outcomes."
— Brian Evans
Minneapolis Fed President Kashkari sees higher long-run rates
Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari said Monday he thinks the longer-term trajectory for interest rates could be higher than it has been in the past.
Strong economic growth in the face of an aggressive Fed rate-hiking campaign indicates that the so-called neutral rate that neither pushes nor holds back growth over time is elevated compared to the 2.5% or so rate that Fed officials have long held, Kashkari said.
"We've raised rates a lot, and the US economy has basically absorbed them and still continues to perform quite well, and the labor market has remained strong. That's really good news, but it's a little bit hard to figure," he said during a question-and-answer session in Wisconsin.
"The fact that the economy has been so resilient over the last couple years, tells me, at least right now, the neutral rate seems to be higher," he added.
In their quarterly economic projections, Fed officials have been gradually raising the long-run rate higher, most recently putting it at 2.9% in September.
— Jeff Cox
