Asian stocks mixed after late slump on Wall Street

Asian shares were mixed Tuesday after a late drop left major Wall Street indexes mostly lower.

Tokyo was closed Tuesday for a holiday. Hong Kong and Seoul declined while Shanghai edged higher.

Market players appeared to be relieved to learn that President Joe Biden will nominate Jerome Powell for a second four-year term at the helm of the Federal Reserve, a vote of confidence in Powell’s handling of central bank policies during the brutal disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.1% to 24,669.59 and the Kospi in Seoul lost 0.5% to 2,997.33. In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.8% to 7,410.60 and the Shanghai Composite index added 0.2% to 3,588.77.

Shares rose in India but fell in Taiwan.

“With Japan on holiday today, the price action in U.S. markets is being broadly repeated in Asia. Tech-heavy indices are suffering while those with more traditional resource, banking and property weightings are holding their own," Jeffrey Halley of Oanda said in a commentary.

Investors are closely watching the Fed to see whether pressure from rising inflation prompts it to speed up its plans for trimming bond purchases and raising its benchmark interest rate.

“Powell getting the nod is a sign that Biden is staying the course on monetary policy and the Fed is steadily moving toward normalizing policy,” said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer for Commonwealth Financial Network. “On the whole, the Fed is going to continue to be a force for monetary stability.”

Still, a late-afternoon burst of selling derailed the market from another all-time high on Monday.

The S&P 500 fell 0.3% to 4,682.94. The Dow gained less than 0.1% to 35,619.25. The tech-heavy Nasdaq gave up 1.3% to 15,854.76.

Small company stocks also fell. The Russell 2000 index...