Asian markets tumble amid rising oil supply fears

Asian equity markets opened lower on Tuesday, according to Mettis Global, with South Korea's Kospi taking the steepest losses. The Kospi fell 3.29 per cent at the open, while the small-cap Kosdaq dropped 2.49 per cent. Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped 1.20 per cent after returning from a holiday, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 eased 0.33 per cent.

The declines followed a heavy session in the region, when the Kospi dropped more than 6 per cent to below 6,000, its lowest since July 31. Oil was the main worry, as renewed supply fears lifted Brent crude above $106 a barrel after an assault on a Saudi airport on Saturday, which killed 12 people and left more than 300 injured. Futures on Hong Kong's Hang Seng signalled a softer start, CNBC reported.

In the United States, stock futures were largely subdued as investors readied for a busy earnings calendar, with S&P 500 futures down about 0.1 per cent and Nasdaq-100 futures 0.2 per cent lower. JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Wells Fargo were set to post quarterly results before the market opened on Tuesday, and FactSet expects S&P 500 profits to climb nearly 30 per cent compared with the same period last year. Treasury yields, which have recently risen to multidecade highs, and September inflation figures due later this week are also on the agenda.