Asia trades lower as RBA decides to hold rates
Major Asian stock indexes traded mostly lower on Tuesday following yesterday's gains. The Reserve Bank of Australia decided not to raise interest rates at its latest meeting but said some more tightening might be needed in the future. The services sectors both in Japan and China continued to expand in August, according to new reports. China's property company Country Garden Holdings made two overdue interest payments on bonds worth $22.5 million in total, avoiding default.
The Nikkei 225 was the only index with gains, up by 0.07% at 7:11 am CET. Meanwhile, the Kospi Composite lost 0.16%, the Hang Seng was down by 1.48%, and the S&P/ASX 200 declined by 0.31%. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite dropped 0.69% a minute later, and the Shenzhen Composite decreased by 0.63%.
The dollar traded 0.17% higher against the yen at 7:13 am CET, going for 146.7340.