Canadian Shares Turning In Mixed Performance In Cautious Trade

The Australian stock market is significantly lower on Tuesday, reversing the slight gains in the previous session, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling well below the 8,300 level, with weakness across most sectors led by mining and technology stocks.

The China stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last five trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 20 points or 0.6 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just beneath the 3,375-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on growing U.S. tariff concerns. The European and U.S. markets were mostly lower and the Asian markets are also expected to open under pressure. The SCI finished slightly lower on Monday as losses from the financials and oil companies were mitigated by support from the property sector. For the day, the index dipped 6.09 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 3,373.03 after trading between 3,355.87 and 3,384.81. The Shenzhen Composite Index perked 2.65 points or 0.13 percent to end at 2,091.46. Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 0.58 percent, while Bank of China dropped 0.92 percent, China Construction Bank lost 0.69 percent, China Merchants Bank fell 0.31 percent, Agricultural Bank of China sank 0.77 percent, China Life Insurance collected 0.63 percent, Ping An dipped 0.19 percent, Jiangxi Copper eased 0.10 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) slid 0.13 percent, Yankuang Energy jumped 1.84 percent, PetroChina skidded 1.13 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) slumped 0.51 percent, Huaneng Power slipped 0.15 percent, China Shenhua Energy climbed 1.07 percent, Gemdale rallied 2.19 percent, Poly Developments spiked 1.83 percent and China Vanke soared 2.62 percent.

The Taiwan stock market headed south again on Monday, one session after snapping the two-day losing streak in which it had dropped almost 180 points or 0.8 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 23,565-point plateau and it's expected to open in the red again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on growing U.S. tariff concerns. The European and U.S. markets were mostly lower and the Asian markets are also expected to open under pressure.

The Singapore stock market has moved lower in two of three trading days since the end of the three-day winning streak in which it had risen almost 60 points or 1.4 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just beneath the 3,930-point plateau and it's predicted to open to the downside again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on growing U.S. tariff concerns. The European and U.S. markets were mostly lower and the Asian markets are also expected to open under pressure. The STI finished slightly lower on Monday following losses from the financial shares and industrial issues, while the property stocks were mixed. For the day, the index eased 2.19 points or 0.06 percent to finish at 3,927.75 after trading between 3,923.28 and 3,951.64. Among the actives, CapitaLand Investment jumped 2.45 percent, City Developments rallied 2.59 percent, DBS Group dropped 0.58 percent, Hongkong Land dipped 0.22 percent, Keppel DC REIT added 0.47 percent, Keppel Ltd sank 0.29 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust climbed 1.72 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust strengthened 2.00 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust and Jardine Cycle both advanced 0.83 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation fell 0.23 percent, SATS plunged 3.33 percent, Seatrium Limited tanked 2.10 percent, SembCorp Industries accelerated 2.61 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering rose 0.20 percent, Thai Beverage spiked 3.00 percent, UOL Group surged 5.89 percent, Wilmar International soared 3.25 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding plummeted 7.14 percent and CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, Yangzijiang Financial, Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust, Genting Singapore, SingTel, Emperador and Comfort DelGro were unchanged.

The Malaysia stock market turned lower again on Monday, one session after snapping the two-day losing streak in which it had slipped more than 7 points or 0.4 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,585-point plateau and it's expected to open under pressure again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on growing U.S. tariff concerns. The European and U.S. markets were mostly lower and the Asian markets are also expected to open under pressure. The KLCI finished modestly lower on Monday as losses from the financial shares and industrials were tempered by support from the plantation stocks. For the day, the index dipped 6.78 points or 0.43 percent to finish at 1,584.25 after trading between 1,577.95 and 1,586.39. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail gained 0.47 percent, while Axiata rallied 2.43 percent, Celcomdigi added 0.87 percent, CIMB Group rose 0.24 percent, Gamuda plunged 5.67 percent, IHH Healthcare eased 0.14 percent, IOI Corporation strengthened 1.59 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong jumped 2.00 percent, Maxis and Hong Leong Bank both advanced 1.17 percent, Maybank sank 0.19 percent, MISC accelerated 2.24 percent, MRDIY surged 3.38 percent, Nestle Malaysia and PPB Group both improved 1.10 percent, Petronas Chemicals plummeted 9.66 percent, Press Metal slumped 0.97 percent, Public Bank dropped 0.67 percent, QL Resources climbed 1.29 percent, Sime Darby soared 2.70 percent, SD Guthrie spiked 2.67 percent, Sunway stumbled 1.88 percent, Tenaga Nasional tanked 2.43 percent, YTL Corporation declined 1.53 percent, YTL Power retreated 1.55 percent and Telekom Malaysia and RHB Bank were unchanged.

Ahead of Monday's holiday for the Emperor's birthday, the Japanese stock market had ended the two-day slide in which it had stumbled almost 600 points or 1.7 percent. The Nikkei 225 now rests just above the 38,775-point plateau although it figures to head south again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on growing U.S. tariff concerns. The European and U.S. markets were mostly lower and the Asian markets are also expected to open under pressure. The Nikkei finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the automobile producers, weakness from the financial shares and a mixed picture from the technology stocks. For the day, the index added 98.90 points or 0.26 percent to finish at 38,776.94 after trading between 38,456.53 and 38,808.81. Among the actives, Nissan Motor skyrocketed 9.47 percent, while Mazda Motor jumped 1.86 percent, Toyota Motor dipped 0.17 percent, Honda Motor advanced 0.99 percent, Softbank Group shed 0.65 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial skidded 1.17 percent, Mizuho Financial tanked 2.48 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial sank 0.82 percent, Sony Group spiked 2.17 percent, Panasonic Holdings strengthened 1.35 percent, Hitachi slumped 2.87 percent and Mitsubishi Electric was unchanged. The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened higher on Monday but faded quickly and finished mixed.

The South Korea stock market has moved lower in two of three trading days since the end of the seven-day winning streak in which it had rallied almost 150 points or 5.7 percent. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,645-point plateau and it may take further damage on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on growing U.S. tariff concerns. The European and U.S. markets were mostly lower and the Asian markets are also expected to open under pressure. The KOSPI finished modestly lower on Monday following mixed performances from the financial shares, technology stocks and chemical companies. For the day, the index shed 9.31 points or 0.35 percent to finish at the daily high of 2,645.27 after moving as low as 2,626.88. Volume was 491.48 million shares worth 10.46 trillion won. There were 448 gainers and 421 decliners. Among the actives, Shinhan Financial dropped 0.94 percent, while KB Financial sank 0.85 percent, Hana Financial collected 0.32 percent, Samsung Electronics retreated 1.55 percent, Samsung SDI skyrocketed 6.70 percent, LG Electronics improved 1.21 percent, SK Hynix stumbled 2.15 percent, Naver gained 0.66 percent, LG Chem jumped 1.86 percent, Lotte Chemical shed 0.53 percent, SK Innovation climbed 1.13 percent, POSCO Holdings fell 0.35 percent, SK Telecom increased 0.86 percent, KEPCO picked up 0.68 percent, Hyundai Mobis advanced 0.79 percent, Hyundai Motor added 0.49 percent and Kia Motors rose 0.32 percent.

The Bank of Korea will wrap up its monetary policy meeting on Tuesday and then announce its decision on interest rates, highlighting a modest day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. The BoK is expected to trim its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis point, to 2.75 percent from 3.00 percent.