Asian stock markets mostly drifted lower Tuesday, taking a negative cue from Wall Street as the economic outlook for next year clouds.
KEEPING SCORE: Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average was down 0.1 percent at 17,575 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.1 percent to 23,354.24. Seoul's Kospi was down 0.5 percent at 1,956.17. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.4 percent to 5,279 as metal prices rose off recent lows. Markets in Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia were higher. China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.3 percent to 2,672.21.
GLOBAL GLOOM: Markets were absorbing a number of unsettling trends including further weakness in China's economy, weak holiday retail sales in the U.S. and the slump in oil prices. Faltering recoveries in Europe and Japan add to the picture of an anemic global economy. Meanwhile, the drop in oil prices from above $100 a barrel to below $70 is putting stress on oil-exporting nations, Russia particularly, which is already under strain from Western sanctions over its backing of the rebellion in eastern Ukraine.
THE QUOTE: "Russia will be the one to watch next year," said Evan Lucas, market strategist at IG in Melbourne, Australia. The country "stands to lose a staggering $90 to $100 billion in oil royalties because of the price decline," he said. "We have seen Moscow flexing its might in 2014. I'm asking myself whether backing itself into a corner under the crippling financial strain will see it come to the negotiation table or will it rage against the machine to get itself out?"
WALL STREET: Mounting signs of weakness in the global economy and a poor start to the holiday shopping season knocked the stock market lower on Monday. The Standard & Poor's 500 fell 14.12 points, or 0.7 percent, to close at 2,053.44. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 51.44 points, or 0.3 percent, to 17,776.80, while the Nasdaq composite fell 64.28 points, or 1.3 percent, to 4,727.35.
