HONG KONG - Hong Kong was down sharply on Tuesday on the back of major losses in Chinese firms, as a lack of clear direction ahead of key announcements this week presented a challenge for global investors.
It was the third straight day of losses on the Hang Seng Index, with Alibaba Group Holdings down more than three percent, internet giant Baidu down more than four and pharmaceutical maker Wuxi Biologics dropping more than seven.
The index had shed nearly two percent as of the afternoon.
"Investors seem to be having concerns about the sustainability of the recovery in China and the heightening of geopolitical tensions," Redmond Wong, of Saxo Capital Markets HK, told Bloomberg.
Shanghai was down as well, while Taipei shed more than 1.5 percent.
Seoul was another big loser, in spite of a surge in media stocks following a $2.5 billion investment announcement by Netflix, as well as new data showing South Korea had dodged a technical recession in the first quarter.
Manila, Bangkok and Singapore also sank on Tuesday, while Tokyo, Wellington and Jakarta rose. Mumbai and Kuala Lumpur were more or less flat.
US equity futures were trading lower and bourses in London, Frankfurt and Paris all opened down on Tuesday after spending the previous session dipping in and out of negative territory.
Traders have largely been treading water ahead of earnings results from US tech behemoths such as Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook owner Meta and Google parent Alphabet.
Investors are also waiting for important economic data from Australia and the eurozone, as well as a policy meeting of the Bank of Japan.