Nikkei 225 declined around 0.1% to 38,026.02, S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.2% to 8,010.50, Kospi edged up less than 0.1% to 2,698.69, Hang Seng slid 1.0% to 17,335.72, while the Shanghai Composite dropped 0.3% to 2,859.08
Asian shares mostly dropped Wednesday following a decline on Wall Street that snapped an eight-day winning streak, the longest of the year.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 declined around 0.1% in afternoon trading to 38,026.02. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 reversed course and gained 0.2% to 8,010.50. South Korea’s Kospi was little changed, edging up less than 0.1% to 2,698.69. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slid 1.0% to 17,335.72, while the Shanghai Composite dropped 0.3% to 2,859.08.
In Tokyo, Japan’s Finance Ministry reported a 621 billion yen ($4.3 billion) trade deficit in July, as soaring global prices pushed imports higher, growing almost 17% from the previous year. Robust imports underlined better consumer spending amid growing wages. Japan’s exports also grew, rising 10%, to destinations such as the U.S. and China.
Market watchers have their eyes on Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech later this week at an economic symposium in Jackson Hole (U.S.).
Expectations aren’t high he will announce anything dramatic now, with almost everyone expecting the Federal Reserve to reduce interest rates next month. But markets are looking for signs of how big that cut might be.
We might get a read on how confident or otherwise the Fed is that inflation has been tamed, and from this, markets may project the size and scope of rate cuts we might expect to see, according to Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.
The Fed chairman’s take on the health of the jobs market will also be interesting to watch, he added.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 slid 0.2% Tuesday. The S&P 500 is still just 1.2% below its all-time high hit last month. It has bounce back from an earlier decline, at one point to around 10% below its record.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 61 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite slid 0.3%.
