Asian stocks slip, track Wall Street retreat following Powell nomination

Asia stocks were mostly down on Tuesday, tracking a decline on Wall Street following U.S. President Joe Biden’s nomination of Fed Chair Jerome Powell for a second term. Powell’s nomination bolstered expectations that the U.S. will taper its stimulus soon.

MSCI’s gauge of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan plunged 0.49%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and Chinese benchmark CSI300 edged down 1.1% and 0.2%, respectively.

The Australian S&P/ASX 200 went up 0.55%, lifted by miners and energy stocks. Meanwhile, markets in Japan were closed in observance of a public holiday.

Rising COVID-19 cases in Europe have rattled riskier assets in the previous sessions, dampening investor hopes of a swift global recovery in consumption and growth.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite retreated overnight after Biden selected Powell to continue as the Fed’s chair, while the other top candidate, Lael Brainard, will be vice-chair.