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Informist, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

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Equity Alert: Asian markets down; KOSPI falls after hitting fresh high

 

MUMBAI--0756 IST--Equity indices in Asia were down on Tuesday. The South Korean KOSPI was trading lower for the session after hitting a fresh high. Investors in the region are still grappling with US tariff threats on Europe as the region unites to support Greenland. Investors are also keeping an eye on Japan and the developments surrounding snap elections in the country. US markets were closed Monday on account of Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. 

 

European states are considering counter-tariffs and economic measures in response to the threat of tariffs by US President Donald Trump in his attempt to purchase Greenland, CNBC reported. Trump Saturday said exports from eight European nations would begin at 10% on Feb. 1 and climb to 25% by Jun. 1 if talks fail to secure US control of the mineral-rich island. The continent's constituents have gathered in support of the Arctic island. On Monday, the leader of the world's largest economy refused to rule out the use of force and seemed adamant that he would carry out his tariff threats on the eight members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, BBC reported. Speaking on the future of the semi-autonomous island, UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper emphasised the country's position that the future of the island was for "Greenlanders and for the Danes alone" to decide. 

 

Japan's ruling coalition holds a one-seat Lower House majority after its formation in October after Sanae Takaichi came into power because of the resignation of her predecessor, CNBC reported. Given this, it would bring more clarity on policy if the snap elections result in a government with a stronger mandate, even if it raises some near-term political uncertainty, Fitch Group was reported as saying. The global brokerage expects government debt to gradually ease over the medium term as stronger nominal GDP growth will offset wider fiscal deficit and higher borrowing costs, despite expecting debt to remain elevated in the near term for Japan.

 

Meanwhile, China left its benchmark lending rates unchanged for an eighth consecutive month, with the one-year loan prime rate kept at 3% and the five-year loan prime rate kept at 3.5%, Reuters reported. This was in line with estimates, with 22 market participants surveyed by Reuters arriving at the same conclusion.

 

Following are the levels of key Asian indices at 0753 IST:

 

INDEX	LEVEL	CHANGE IN %
CSI 300 Index	4708.24	(-)0.55
Hang Seng Index	26495.09	(-)0.26
KOSPI	4887.95	(-)0.34
Nikkei 225 Day	53141.98	(-)0.82
TOPIX FIRST SECTION	3629.02	(-)0.75
FTSE Singapore Straits Times	4825.29	(-)0.20
S&P/ASX 200 Index	8822.40	(-)0.59

 

(Akshat Saksena)

 

US$1 = INR 90.91

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

All prices from National Stock Exchange, unless otherwise specified.

All percentage changes for share prices are rounded off to the nearest whole number; percentage changes for index values are rounded off to one decimal place.

All times are Indian Standard Time.

 

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