Asia-Pacific markets track Wall Street declines as Trump fires Fed Governor Lisa Cook

Asia-Pacific markets mostly fell Tuesday, tracking losses on Wall Street, as investors weighed U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments on China.

The U.S. President fired Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook late Monday stateside, according to a letter onhis Truth Social. This marks an unprecedented move and a significant escalation of his attacks on the U.S. central bank.

Investors also assessed the meeting between South Korean and U.S. presidents over fleshing out the trade deal framework announced last month that stipulated 15% tariffs on the Asian country’s exports to the U.S.

TheKospiindex fell 0.46%, while the small-cap Kosdaq was up 0.55% at the open.

In Japan, theNikkei 225declined by 1.21% while the broader Topix index fell 1.05%.

Australia’sS&P/ASX 200benchmark dropped 0.31%.

Futures for Hong Kong’sHang Seng indexstood at 25,711, pointing to a weaker open compared with the HSI’s last close of 25,829.91

China stocks will be in focus, after the mainland’s CSI 300extended its gains for a fourth straight session, climbing more than 2% on Monday. Overnight, Trump reportedly threatened to charge China “200% tariffs or something” if they did not export rare-earth magnets to the U.S.

Shares in the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index — which captures Chinese stocks listed on the U.S. — ended Monday’s session higher despite losses in the key benchmarks on Wall Street.

U.S. equity futures were little changed in early Asia hours, as investors await Nvidia‘s earnings and reading of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge.

Overnight stateside, all three key benchmarks fell with the tech-heavy Nasdaq down 0.22% at 21,449.29. The broad marketS&P 500traded 0.43% lower to settle at 6,439.32, while the 30-stockDow Jones Industrial Averageclosed down 349.27 points, or 0.77%, at 45,282.47.

— CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Tanaya Macheel contributed to this report.