Sydney Opera House, designed by Danish architect Mr Jorn Oberg Utzon, at first light as the sun rises over Sydney harbor and city center skyscrapers.
Ucg | Universal Images Group | Getty Images
Asian defense stocks snapped a two-day winning streak amid mixed trading in the region, as investors continued to assess geopolitical risks after the U.S. attack on Venezuela and renewed rhetoric over Greenland.
In Japan, shares of Kawasaki Heavy Industries slid 1.1%. South Korea’s Korea Aerospace fell 1.62%, while Poongsan declined 4.98%. Hanwha Aerospace retreated 1.76%.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that President Donald Trump and his team were considering “a range of options” in order to acquire Greenland — including “utilizing the U.S. Military.”
The statement further escalates the Trump administration’s already aggressive rhetoric about Greenland, which the president has long sought to make a part of the United States.
Elsewhere, Australia’s benchmark ASX/S&P 200 rose 0.38% after domestic inflation data came in below forecasts. The Consumer Price Index rose 3.4% from a year earlier in November, missing Reuters’ expectations of 3.7%, and below October’s 3.8% inflation.
Monthly inflation was also unchanged from October, suggesting that price pressures may be easing and the case for a hike in interest rates may be cooling.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slid 0.45%, while the Topix lost 0.63%. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.89%, while the small-cap Kosdaq edged 0.12% lower.
Shares of South Korean Hyundai Motors soared over 11%, extending gains for a sixth straight session. The company announced Tuesday that it planned to deploy humanoid robots at U.S. factories from 2028.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slid 0.43%, while mainland CSI 300 added 0.13%.
U.S. crude futures fell 1.3% to $56.39 per barrel after U.S. President Donald Trump said that Venezuela would transfer between 30 million and 50 million barrels of oil to the United States. The remarks followed a weekend operation in which U.S. forces seized former leader Nicolás Maduro.
U.S. equity futures were little changed in early Asian hours. Overnight in the United States, stocks advanced as investors appeared to look past the Venezuela operation.
The S&P 500 rose 0.62%, notching a record close of 6,944.82. It also posted a new all-time high during the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 484.90 points, or 0.99%, likewise reaching an intraday all-time high and closing at a record of 49,462.08. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.65% and ended at 23,547.17.
— CNBC’s Liz Napolitano, Fred Imbert and Sean Conlon contributed to this report.
