Asian markets decline, causing Hong Kong and Japanese stocks to fall following Wall Street's volatility.

• On Tuesday, after a volatile session on Wall Street, the stock markets in Japan and Hong Kong fell, causing the Asia-Pacific markets to tumble.
• On Monday, U.S. markets experienced volatility, with stocks initially selling off but later experiencing a dramatic comeback as investors bought back tech shares that had been beaten down.
• Concerns about a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine heightened geopolitical tensions.
• Bitcoin returned to positive territory after crashing to a new low on Monday.

On Tuesday, Japan and Hong Kong stocks declined, following a tumble in Asia-Pacific markets, which had been affected by a volatile session on Wall Street the previous night.

Japan's stock market closed 1.66% lower to 27,131.34, with auto and tech stocks largely down, and the Topix fell 1.72% to close at 1,896.62. Hong Kong's stock market slipped as much as 2.6% earlier but recovered somewhat to decline 1.67%, closing at 24,243.61.

Australia's stock market saw some gains, closing down 2.49% to 6,961.60, as banks, miners, and oil stocks all fell across the board. Bank stocks such as ANZ lost nearly 4%, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia and National Australia Bank fell 2% and 2.9% respectively. Oil stocks dropped as Santos fell 4.82%, Beach Energy dived 7.77%, and Woodwide Petroleum slid 3.98%.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics announced that inflation in Australia rose 1.3% in the fourth quarter and 3.5% for the year. According to Reuters, this was the fastest annual pace of price increase since 2014.

In South Korea, the stock market session ended with a 2.56% decline, closing at 2,720.39.

After reporting fourth-quarter earnings, Hyundai Motors' net profit for the quarter that ended in December was 547 billion Korean won ($456 million), down nearly 50% from 1.1 trillion won a year before, resulting in a 1.27% decline in the company's stock price.

In the fourth quarter of 2021, South Korea's economy grew 1.1% compared to the previous quarter, according to the Bank of Korea. For the full year, the country's GDP expanded by 4% in 2021, the fastest in 11 years, as reported by Reuters.

The Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen Component both experienced a decline, with the Shanghai Composite losing 2.58% and the Shenzhen Component dropping 2.83%.

On Tuesday, Singapore's central bank tightened monetary policy due to rising prices, global demand recovery, and ongoing supply-side disruptions.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore manages policy using the exchange rate and announced a slight increase in the appreciation rate of its policy band.

The Singapore dollar strengthened against the U.S. dollar to trade at 1.3434, while the Straits Times Index was down 1.38%.

U.S. volatility

On Monday, U.S. markets experienced volatility, with stocks initially selling off but later experiencing a dramatic comeback as investors bought back tech shares that had been beaten down.

The Dow and S&P 500 both experienced a reversal of their earlier declines, with the Dow closing up 0.3% at 34,364.50 and the S&P 500 finishing 0.3% higher at 4,410.13.

The Nasdaq Composite Index reversed course after being down 4.9% earlier in the session, finishing the day up 0.6% at 13,855.13.

According to Kathy Lien of 60 Second Investor, the recent sell-off in stocks was due to concerns about the Fed tightening at a time when the economic momentum was slowing. However, after eight straight days of selling and a 10% drop year to date, more attractive valuations, particularly in technology stocks, attracted bargain hunters.

The Federal Open Market Committee is due to meet on Tuesday and Wednesday to decide on the next steps for U.S. monetary policy, which led to a 2% drop in oil prices overnight.

The price of WTI and Brent crude oil increased by 0.59% and 0.74%, respectively, to $83.80 and $86.91 per barrel.

The focus was on geopolitical tensions, particularly the growing fear of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, as the military buildup at the border continues and crisis talks remain stalled.

Currencies

Bitcoin rebounded from a new low of $32,982.11 on Monday to $37,183.25 in afternoon trading, up 5.6%, as broader equities reversed course and ended the day higher. It had last traded at $35,749 during Asia hours.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a group of other currencies, increased significantly from approximately 95.6 to 95.97.

The strengthened slightly from around $114 previously, while the dropped from around $0.717.