Markets Wane, Softbank Down about 5%

Asia-Pacific markets closed lower Tuesday, tracking Wall Street declines overnight ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting later this week. Investors also assessed the talks between U.S. President Donald Trump, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House, aimed at stopping the Moscow-Kyiv conflict. In Japan, the Nikkei ditched 168.02 points, or 0.4%, to 43,546.29 In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng retreated 53.95 points, or 0.2%, to 25,122,90. Investment firm SoftBank Group snapped its nine-day winning streak Tuesday after its shares plunged over 5% following its announcement of a $2 billion investment in Intel. As part of the deal, SoftBank will pay $23 per share for Intel’s common stock, which closed at $23.66 on Monday. In other markets In Shanghai, the CSI 300 handed over 16.04 points, or 0.4%, to 4,223.37. In Singapore, the Straits Times index recovered 28.81 points, or 0.7%, to 4,216.19 In Korea, the Kospi lost 25.72 points, or 0.8%, to 3,151.56. In Taiwan, the Taiex index faded 76 points, or 0.4%, to 24,114.87. In New Zealand, the NZX 50 dipped 41.96 points, or 0.3%, to 12,928.68 In Australia, the ASX 200 subtracted 63.11 points, or 0.7%, to 8,896.16