Asian stocks droop after Wall Street decline

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares drooped in early trading Tuesday following a decline on Wall Street, as falling oil prices and a stronger yen hurt regional investor sentiment.

KEEPING SCORE: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 2.1 percent in morning trading to 15,786.47. South Korea's Kospi fell 0.9 percent to 1,961.04. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 1.6 percent to 20,162.09, while the Shanghai Composite index stood at 3,009.83, almost unchanged from the previous session, inching up 0.01 percent. Other regional markets were also mostly lower, dipping in Taiwan, Singapore and the Philippines.

WALL STREET: The Dow Jones industrial average lost 55.75 points, or 0.3 percent, to 17,737. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 6.65 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,066.13 and the Nasdaq composite lost 22.75 points, or 0.5 percent, to 4,891.80.

THE QUOTE: "Given the somewhat mixed signals from the U.S. Federal Reserve, investors will be looking for clues to its next move," said Alex Furber, senior client services executive at CMC Markets in Singapore. "China and Hong Kong markets also resume today after Monday's break."

ENERGY: Market sentiment has been hurt by a recent drop in oil prices. Benchmark U.S. crude fell 21 cents to $35.49 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oils, lost 18 cents to $37.51 a barrel in London.

CURRENCIES: The euro was unchanged at $1.1397, while the dollar edged down to 110.83 yen from 111.495 yen.

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AP Business Writer Ken Sweet contributed to this report.

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