Asia-Pacific stocks continued to struggle,...>

STOCKS: Asia-Pacific stocks continued to struggle, with all of the major indices

registering modest losses in the first half of Tuesday's session as trade war &

EM worries persisted.

- The Nikkei 225 was pressured by automakers and pharma names.

- The consumer staples and utilities sectors applied the most weight to the Hang

Seng.

- In Australia the ASX 200 was pressured by the energy and financial sectors,

although telecoms provided some cushion for the broader index.

- U.S. index futures posted modest gains, aided by the BOJ increasing the size

of its Rinban operations covering the 1-5 Year buckets, likely put in place to

counteract fewer eligible purchase days in September.