Stock market today: Asian shares are mostly lower as Australia's central bank raises its key rate
Shares have mostly fallen in Asia after a mixed close on Wall Street
BANGKOK — Shares mostly fell in Asia on Tuesday after a mixed close on Wall Street, where wild recent moves calmed a bit at the beginning of a quiet week for data releases.
Benchmarks dropped more than 1% in Hong Kong and Tokyo. South Korea’s Kospi gave up 2.7% of its big gains from a day earlier.
Late Monday, office-sharing company WeWork confirmed it is seeking bankruptcy protection. Trading in its shares was halted Monday amid speculation over its restructuring plans.
It's a stunning decline for a one-time Wall Street darling that promised to upend the way people went to work around the world. The company's shares cost more than $400 two years ago but now cost less than $1.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 declined 1.3% to 32,271.82 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong dropped 1.4% to 17,710.68. The Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.1% to 3,055.74.
China reported its imports rose 3% in October from a year earlier, the first such increase in over a year, while exports fell 6.4%, the sixth straight monthly decline. The trade surplus fell to $56.5 billion.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3% to 6,977.10 after the central bank raised its key interest rate by 0.25 percentage points, to 4.35%.
The Reserve Bank of Australia has been trying to bring inflation back to its 2%-3% target by raising interest rates, though it's near the end of its tightening cycle. The RBA had left its cash rate at 4.1% for four straight meetings, but quarterly inflation data came in above expectations last week.
In Seoul, the Kospi dropped 3% to 2,427.82. It gained 5.7% on Monday after the government, seeking to shore up public support ahead of legislative elections in April, restored until the
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