Asian shares mostly lower after tech-led Wall Steet retreat

BANGKOK (AP) — Stocks were mostly lower in Asia on Tuesday after Wall Street retreated from recent record levels on weakness in technology shares.

Hong Kong’s benchmark slipped on persisting worries over property developers. Tokyo, Seoul and Shanghai also declined.

Shares in Shanghai-based Shimao Group Holdings sank 12.6% in Hong Kong on Tuesday on concerns about its financial situation. Shimao is among many property companies facing tighter controls on debt levels that have caught some heavily leveraged companies short on cash to meet debt obligations.

China Evergrande Group's shares gave up 6.4%. Evergrande is one of China's largest developers, with over $300 billion in debt.

“Recent scrutiny has gripped hold of Shimao Group Holdings, China’s 13th largest developer by contracted sales, on its liquidity position and debt-servicing ability. That may continue to put the property sector on watch today," said Yeap Jun Rong of IG.

Another worry is China's first reported case of the omicron variant of coronavirus, Yeap added.

Chinese leaders have promised tax cuts and support for entrepreneurs to shore up slumping economic growth as the country grapples with bankruptcies and defaults among real estate developers caused by the campaign to rein in surging debt.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 1.3% to 23,642.70 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo lost 0.9% to 28,391.91. In Seoul, the Kospi fell 0.7% to 2,982.00.

The Shanghai Composite index shed 0.3% to 3,669.84, while the S&P/ASX 200 edged less than 0.1% lower, to 7,376.70.

On Monday, the S&P 500 fell 0.9% to 4,669.97, giving back some of its gains after the benchmark index climbed to an all-time high Friday ending Wall Street's best week since February. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also fell 0.9%, to 35,650.95. The...