BEIJING – Asian stock markets declined Tuesday after Wall Street rose on gains for tech stocks and reassurance by the U.S.
Federal Reserve of support for an economic recovery. Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney retreated. Overnight, Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 index rose 0.7% as big technology companies led stocks broadly higher.
Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft advanced. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said that while the economy was improving, a recovery is “far from complete." In testimony to Congress, he said the Fed “will continue to provide the economy the support it needs for as long as it takes.” Powell “kept markets happy” by saying "there was still a long way to go” before tighter monetary policy is justified, Robert Carnell of ING