Development diverged on the leading Asian markets in the initial Tuesday trading.
In Hong Kong, where the exchanges had closed for the Monday holiday, the Hang Seng had dropped a whole 1.8 per cent around lunch local time.
The Shanghai composite index, which also started the trading week, was simultaneously down 1 per cent.
In Tokyo, on the other hand, which had remained open all week, the Nikkei 225 index had risen by 0.3 per cent when traders took a lunch break, while the broader Topix index was up 0.2 per cent.
The market is awaiting, among other things, Wednesday's interest rate decision from the US central bank, the Federal Reserve.
