Live News: Evergrande resumes trading in Hong Kong as founder faces investigation

Stocks fell across Asia on Tuesday as markets focused on the prospect of a sustained period of higher global interest rates.

The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell by 2.8 percent, after trading resumed after the holiday on Monday. Japan’s Topix index fell 1.1 percent.

Markets in mainland China and South Korea were closed for public holidays.

China Evergrande: Shares of the troubled property developer are set to begin trading again on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Trading was suspended last Thursday when Evergrande said its billionaire chairman Hui Ka Yan was subject to unspecified “mandatory measures” on suspicion of “unlawful crimes”.

South Korea: Financial markets are closed for National Foundation Day, a holiday celebrating the legendary founding of the first Korean state called Gojoseon in 2333 BC.

Reserve Bank of Australia: The central bank decides on the interest rate. Economists expect interest rates to remain at 4.1 percent, the highest level in 11 years.

WeWork revealed on Monday that it has forgone $95 million in interest payments, as the debt-laden US real estate group teeters on the brink of bankruptcy and tries to convince its creditors and landlords to come to the negotiating table.

The SoftBank-backed company said missing payments would allow it to hold “discussions with certain stakeholders” as it works on a plan to reduce its financial obligations, a large portion of which are lease costs.

WeWork said last month that it was seeking to renegotiate nearly all of its leases, telling landlords that its rental expenses were “grossly out of line with current market conditions.”

The UN Security Council agreed to send a security mission to fight gangs in Haiti, after a year of stalemate over the issue. China and Russia abstained from voting, while the other 13 member states voted in favor of the resolution.

Kenya pledged to lead the mission with 1,000 policemen, and some Caribbean countries also promised to provide support. The United States said it would support the mission but would not send troops.

The vote comes amid a poor security situation in Haiti, where up to 200 gangs control large areas of cities and regularly carry out kidnappings for ransom.

The European Union’s candidate for climate chief has proposed taxing fossil fuels on a global basis, including those used by the airlines and shipping industries, to provide money for a fund to help developing countries suffering from carbon pollution.

Wopke Hoekstra, the former Dutch foreign minister, said in a confirmation session with EU lawmakers on Monday that he would try to launch international talks on the planned “loss and damage” fund by proposing to raise money for it through fuel duties.

International agreements exempt global transport from fuel taxes, although the EU’s emissions trading scheme covers aviation and will be expanded to include shipping next year.

Read more here.

Oil prices fell to their lowest level in three weeks amid concerns that a prolonged period of higher US interest rates could weaken the economy and slow demand for the commodity.

Brent crude fell 1.6 percent, setting the settlement price at $90.71 a barrel on Monday, while US crude closed 2.2 percent lower at $88.82.

The decline in oil prices over the past few days reflects a trend of rising prices since June, which was driven by Saudi Arabia and Russia announcing coordinated production cuts.

US stocks closed higher in a volatile trading session dominated by a resumption of the recent bond market sell-off that pushed long-term Treasury yields to their highest level in 16 years.

The S&P 500 saw a late rebound to close slightly higher, after spending most of the afternoon session in negative territory. Declines eased in the energy and utilities sectors, but they remained the worst performers on the benchmark index.

Gains in all of the “Magnificent Seven” big tech stocks also helped, including a late recovery for Tesla that pushed the electric car maker’s shares into the black. The Nasdaq Composite Index, which is dominated by technology stocks, advanced 0.7% during the day.