Nikkei slides for second day in a row on weak US data

Japan's Nikkei index slid for the second day in a row on Tuesday, after weak economic data in the US made investors wary of taking on risk.

The index fell 0.6% to 15,814 in mid-morning trading on Tuesday, adding to the 2.4% loss on Monday, and is down 3% this year to date. Losses followed the release of data from the Institute for Supply Management which showed the pace of growth in the US services sector slowed again in December. US markets were also hit on the news, with both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones sliding 0.3% overnight. This means the S&P 500 index has had three losing sessions in a row in the first week of the New Year, down 1.2% in total year to date. The next key data point comes later this week with t...