Stock market today: Asian markets mostly lower as worries over Russia-Ukraine war loom

HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stocks were mostly lower on Tuesday, despite gains on Wall Street, as worries mounted over escalations in the Russia-Ukraine war.

U.S. futures edged higher while oil prices were little changed.

On Tuesday, Ukraine fired several American-supplied longer-range missiles into Russia, according to the official, marking the first such use in nearly 1,000 days of war. On the same day, Russian President Vladimir Putin formally lowered the threshold for Russia’s use of its nuclear weapons.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 slipped 0.5% to 38,242.35 after the Finance Ministry reported the country recorded a trade deficit in October, for a fourth straight month. Exports rose 3.1% from a year earlier as a weak yen and the rising price of energy kept import costs high. A trade deficit occurs when the country is importing more goods and services than it is exporting.

China's central bank announced it will keep its benchmark lending rates unchanged after it cut its one-year lending rate to 3.1% in October. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.1% to 19,641.05, while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.6% to 3,364.54.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.5% to 8,330.70. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.7% to 2,488.83.

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.4% to 5,916.98 after erasing an early drop of 0.7%. The Nasdaq composite also shook off an early loss to turn 1% higher to 18,987.47, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.3% to 43,268.94.

Nvidia’s 4.9% climb accounted for most of the index’s gain. The chip company’s stock rallied ahead of its profit report for the latest quarter, which is coming later Wednesday, and vaulted its gain for the year to nearly 197% thanks to the craze around artificial-intelligence technology.

The worries on the Ukraine-Russia conflict sent...