Asia-Pacific stock exchanges traded in a negative zone on Tuesday morning. The major stock indices are reducing their positions, and market participants continue to closely monitor the deterioration of the epidemiological situation across the globe. Investors are also concerned about the mass vaccination in the United States of America, which is not progressing as expected and meets many problems on the way, which cannot be overcome immediately. Another important event for traders is the coming meeting of the US Federal Reserve System on Wednesday. Its result can change the entire course of trading on the market.

While market participants are waiting for news, they have plenty of other reasons to worry about. In particular, the final adoption of a new, expanded financial stimulus program in the US is of utmost concern. Recall that the draft program amounting to $1.9 trillion, proposed by US President Joe Biden, has practically ceased to gain approval from representatives of the Republican Party of the country, as well as by some Democrats. So far, the Democratic Party in the US has a small margin in its favor in the Senate. If the Republicans decide to start anti-propaganda of such an extended package of financial assistance, then its ratification can be completely forgotten.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Index declined 0.96% in the morning.

China's Shanghai Composite fell 1.33%. The Hong Kong Hang Seng Index supported this negative trend and sank even more seriously by 2.33%.

The complicating situation with the coronavirus exerts particularly strong pressure on Chinese indicators Over the past days, there has been a steady increase in new cases of COVID-19 infection. By Monday, there were 82 new patients reported. This causes extreme concern amongst authorities, which have already begun to make every possible effort to avoid repeating the large-scale catastrophe that occurred last winter and spring.

South Korea's KOSPI index was down by 1.8%. The statistics of the country's economic growth also came as negative news. According to the latest estimates, South Korea's economy grew by 1.1% in the fourth quarter of last year, but this was not enough to avoid an overall annual decline. In terms of annual growth rates, the country's GDP level has decreased by 1% compared to the same indicator of the previous year. It should be noted that this is the most negative result that has been recorded in South Korea over the past more than twenty years.

Trading platforms in Australia did not open on Tuesday, as the country celebrates a national holiday - Australia Day.