Tech Stocks Lead The Way Lower In Asia

Major Asia-Pac equity indices are mostly lower at typing on a negative lead from Wall St., with Japanese benchmarks bucking the broader trend of losses on their first day back from the extended weekend. High-beta equities region-wide struggled, likely in the wake of BBG source reports on Monday pointing to Apple Inc considering plans to slow some hiring and spending growth (following similar announcements from other tech giants earlier), fanning fears re: economic slowdowns.

• The Nikkei 225 deals 0.6% firmer at typing, on track for a fourth straight higher daily close. Energy and materials equities contributed the most to gains in the index, with major exporters trading mostly higher as well. Apart from that, the Nikkei may have come up against technical resistance at ~27,050, having failed to break through that level since end-June.
• The CSI300 sits 0.9% worse off, more than reversing Monday’s gains at typing. The consumer staples and healthcare sub-gauges posed the most drag on the index, tracking the broader sell-off in high-beta stocks, with the ChiNext and STAR50 indices dealing 1.1% and 1.9% lower respectively at typing as well. Elsewhere, the CSI300 Real Estate index sits 0.8% worse off, with previously-flagged source reports on a potential stay of mortgage payments for homeowners failing to provide relief for the space.
• The ASX200 trades 0.6% worse off at writing, with the healthcare sub-index (-2.3%) and tech equities (S&P/ASX All Tech Index: -2.3%) leading the way lower. Energy and utilities provided the lone bright spot, tracking the recent rally in major crude benchmarks.
• E-minis sit flat to 0.1% better off at typing, operating firmly within the bottom end of their respective ranges established on Monday.