The Nikkei 225 index dropped 0.4% to 41,095.23, S&P/ASX 200 gained 1% to 8,076.80, Kospi lost 0.2% to 2,859.64, Hang Seng added 0.3% to 17,777.56, the Shanghai Composite index shed 0.2% to 2,971.38, Taiex dropped 0.1%, while the SET was 0.2% higher
Asian stocks were mostly down Wednesday even as investors bet that the Fed will come ahead with a cut to interest rates, while Australia’s benchmark reached a new record.
U.S. futures were mixed and oil prices were little changed.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index gave up early gains to drop 0.4% to 41,095.23. Reports said the Finance Ministry might have intervened in the currency market last week, buying around 6 trillion yen ($37 billion) to support the yen.
The U.S. dollar advanced to 158.42 Japanese yen from 158.34 yen on Wednesday. The yen softened to 161.85 to the dollar last Wednesday and rose to 157.89 last Friday.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 1% to 8,076.80, reaching an all-time high. South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.2% to 2,859.64.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.3% to 17,777.56, while the Shanghai Composite index shed 0.2% to 2,971.38.
Elsewhere, Taiwan’s Taiex dropped 0.1%, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s stock declining 2.4%. The SET in Bangkok was 0.2% higher.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 jumped 0.6% to 5,667.20, setting an all-time high for the 38th time this year. Unlike other record-setting days, Tuesday’s came after a widespread rally where almost nine out of every 10 stocks in the S&P 500 gained, instead of just the handful of Big Tech stocks that have been behind most of this year’s returns.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 1.9% to 40,954.48, and the Nasdaq composite lagged with a gain of 0.2% to 18,509.34, as some of the year’s biggest winners declined.
In the bond market, some of the previous day’s moves also reversed themselves. Longer-term yields dipped more than shorter-term yields after a report showed sales at U.S. retailers held firm last month despite economists’ expectations for a drop.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury declined to 4.16% from 4.23% late Monday. It’s dropped from 4.70% in April, which is a major move for the bond market and has given a solid boost to stock prices.
Yields have dropped on growing expectations that inflation is slowing enough to convince the Fed to start lowering interest rates soon. The Federal Reserve has been keeping its main interest rate at the highest level in over two decades in hopes of slowing the economy just enough to get inflation fully under control.
