Investing.com — Most Asian stocks fell on Tuesday, easing recent gains as investors awaited more signals on interest rates this week, while Indian stocks hovered around record levels on bets that the Bharatiya Janata Party would win a third consecutive election term. General year 2024.
Regional stocks received moderate signals from a mixed close overnight on Wall Street. While technology stocks rose, tracking gains in NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:), broader markets were muted amid signs of slowing economic activity.
US stock futures were flat in Asian trading, with focus shifting squarely towards upcoming labor data for further signals on interest rates.
A series of central bank meetings are scheduled to be held in the coming days. The Federal Reserve is scheduled to cut interest rates this week, while the Federal Reserve is scheduled to keep interest rates steady next week.
India's Nifty 50 futures flat, election results awaited
Interest rates fell slightly on Tuesday as vote counting began in the 2024 general election.
Opinion polls conducted over the weekend showed a landslide victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA alliance. This marks an unprecedented third consecutive term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Indian stocks rose to record levels on Monday after opinion polls, remaining above 23,000 points, while crossing 76,000 points.
The BJP's pro-business policies over the past decade have been largely welcomed by investors, which have also seen the Indian economy grow sharply in recent years. This in turn led to a series of record highs in the Nifty index, as optimism about the Indian economy also attracted a large number of foreign investors.
Broader Asian markets ahead of further interest rate signals
Broader Asian markets moved in a flat to lower range, as US labor data expectations and a series of key central bank meetings kept sentiment low.
The Japanese index fell 0.5%, while the broader index lost 0.4%.
Australia's index fell by 0.1% after a group of weak economic readings. Australian businesses posted a weaker-than-expected performance in the first quarter, while the country slid into deficit in the quarter, a survey showed.
GDP also contracted by 0.9% in the quarter, offering a weak forecast scheduled for release on Wednesday.
China's index rose by 0.3%, while it fell by 0.1% after mixed signals from key PMI data over the past two sessions.
Technology-heavy indices also retreated from the strong gains they achieved in the previous session. South Korea's index fell by 0.4%, while Hong Kong's index fell.