MARKETS: Technology shares weigh on Asian stock markets

Global stock markets are headed for their third day of declines as worries about Iran persist despite the fact that Pres Donald Trump said he had canceled the attack on Iran planned for Tuesday due to ongoing negotiations.

Earlier on Monday, the parties said that they had rejected the latest proposals.

index MSCIThe index following the Asia-Pacific region was down 0.7 percent on Tuesday. The index does not include Japan.

Japan’s Nikkei was down 0.4 percent at the time of the review. The broader Topix, on the other hand, was up 0.5 percent.

Technology stocks led the decline in Asian stock markets. South Korea’s AI-focused Kospi index was down 3.6 percent at the time of the review.

In mainland China, the CSI 300 was down 0.5 percent. In contrast, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.4 percent.

Brent crude fell 2 percent to around $110 a barrel on Tuesday after Trump’s comments. The price of oil has risen by about 80 percent this year, because the strategically important Strait of Hormuz is practically still closed.

High oil prices and inflation worries have pushed interest rates on government bonds from Japan to the United States to multi-year highs. The market faces a significant test as the probability that the US central bank, the Fed, will keep interest rates high for longer increases.

A rise in US interest rates threatens the Asian stock rally, as growing inflation concerns eat into optimism about the benefits of the artificial intelligence boom.

“Government interest rates currently drive a lot of stock market movements. In these higher interest rate conditions, investors move away from stocks whenever there is uncertainty in the market, and the fastest growing sectors come under the most pressure,” Chief Market Analyst at AT Global Markets Nick Twidale told Bloomberg.

At the time of review, one euro equals 1.16 dollars, 185 yen and 0.87 pounds. The dollar was 159 yen and the pound was 1.34 dollars.

A bearish opening is expected in the United States on Tuesday, based on index futures. In Europe, on the other hand, a cautious upward opening is expected.