Forexpros - Asian stock markets pared earlier gains on Tuesday, with markets in Hong Kong and Australia turning lower, as optimism from strong overnight gains on Wall Street faded and markets turned their attention to a meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy later in the day.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped 0.3%, Australia's ASX/200 Index dropped 0.83%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.23%.
U.S. equities posted strong gains on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbing 1.9%, as Google's USD12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility boosted sentiment.
Shares of Foxconn International, a partner of Motorola rallied 12.5% in Hong Kong. The company said that the deal will be positive for Motorola and should benefit operations at the company.
In Seoul, shares of Samsung Electronics, which also sells Google Android phones, jumped 3.85%.
The deal also boosted shares in Japanese technology firms. Chip manufacturer Elpida Memory saw shares surge 5.05%, while Renesas Electronics shares jumped 1.85%.
In Australia, Westpac Banking Corporation saw shares drop 4.35% after reporting a 2% decline in third quarter cash earnings.
The downbeat results weighed on other shares in the sector, with National Australia Bank falling 1.5% and Commonwealth Bank of Australia down 1.15%.
The outlook for European stock markets was downbeat ahead of a key meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy later in the day.
The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a loss of 1.1%, France's CAC 40 futures dropped 0.9%, the FTSE 100 futures fell 0.85%, while Germany's DAX futures indicated a loss of 1.4%.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to publish preliminary data on GDP as well as data on its trade balance.
Meanwhile, the U.S. was to produce official data on building permits and housing starts, as well as reports on import prices, the capacity utilization rate and industrial production.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
