By Suzanne Barlyn
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Asian shares opened weaker on Tuesday on concerns about new pandemic lockdowns in Europe and after reports about financial institutions allegedly moving illicit funds hurt global banking stocks.
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JPMorgan Chase & Co
"The question is whether or not the residue of that impacts the performance of regional financials," said CommSec market analyst Tom Piotrowski in Sydney. "Certainly, HSBC shares will be looked at very closely as far as the Asian session is concerned."
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI> fell 1.84%, the S&P 500 <.SPX> lost 1.16%, and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> dropped 0.13%.
U.S. stocks have tumbled over the past three weeks as investors dumped heavyweight technology-related stocks following a stunning rally that lifted the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to new highs.
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Emerging market stocks lost 1.64%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> closed 1.26% lower.
In Asia, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 <.AXJO> declined 0.5% while South Korea's Kospi <.KS11> fell 0.9%. Japan is closed for a public holiday.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures <.HSI><.HSIc1> were down 0.36%.
E-mini futures for the S&P 500
The dollar index <=USD> rose 0.639% as the euro > dipped 0.03% to $1.1766.
New pandemic measures in the UK set off declines in airline, hotel and cruise companies in both European and U.S. markets, spurring fears about further restrictions.
A new round of pandemic business restrictions would threaten a nascent recovery and further pressure equity markets.
The U.S. Congress has also for weeks remained deadlocked over the size and shape of another coronavirus-response bill, on top of the roughly $3 trillion already enacted into law.
The death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg appeared to make the passage of another stimulus package in Congress less likely before the Nov. 3 presidential election, sparking large declines in the healthcare sector.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he would put forward his nominee on Friday or Saturday and called upon the Senate, controlled by his fellow Republicans, to vote on confirmation ahead of the election.
Investors were also keeping a close eye on China tensions.
China's ByteDance and Oracle Corp
ByteDance was racing to avoid a crackdown on its popular short-video app after the U.S. Commerce Department said on Friday it would block new downloads and updates to the app.
Taiwan said on Monday its armed forces have the right to self-defence and counterattack amid "harassment and threats", in an apparent warning to China, which last week sent numerous jets across the mid-line of the sensitive Taiwan Strait.
In commodity markets, U.S. crude
Spot gold > added 0.2% to $1,917.06 an ounce. U.S. gold futures
(Reporting by Suzanne Barlyn; Editing by Sam Holmes)
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)