Asian shares mostly lower on worries over China outlook

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares were mostly lower Tuesday in Asia as markets remained jittery over the outcome of a Communist Party congress in China, where key reformers were excluded from the highest ranks of ruling party leadership.

Hong Kong’s benchmark failed to hold onto early gains after a 6.4% selloff the day before that took it to its lowest close in over a decade. Tokyo and Sydney advanced but Shanghai, Seoul and Mumbai declined.

U.S. futures edged 0.1% higher but oil prices fall back.

The swooning of Chinese stocks followed the conclusion over the weekend of a Communist Party congress in Beijing where leader Xi Jinping gave himself an unprecedented third five-year term and installed key allies as top ruling party leaders, vanquishing officials viewed as pro-market reformers.

Xi wants a bigger Communist Party role in China’s business and technology development, raising fears centralized control will stunt an economy that already is slowing.

But that might not mean major policy changes, said Iris Pang of ING.

That's because “most, if not all, existing policy decisions has been agreed with Xi. This applies to potential changes in the central bank governor, banking regulator and economic adviser."

At a press briefing Tuesday, Hong Kong leader John Lee said his administration’s assessment showed market activities were running in an orderly way, though he urged investors to make careful decisions.

“Yes, volatility will be high, but our long-tested systems and response systems are in operation all the time. We have a strong response plan for different contingencies,” he said.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.2% to 15,151.01 and the Shanghai Composite index also shed earlier gains, slipping 0.1% to 2,975.08. Taiwan's benchmark fell 1.5%.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index rose 1.2% to...