Stocks in Asia Pacific were lower in Wednesday morning trade as investors await the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision.
Mainland Chinese stocks dipped in early trade, with the Shanghai composite down 0.55% while the Shenzhen component was fractionally lower. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slipped 0.23%.
Japanese stocks also saw losses, with the Nikkei 225 slipping 0.85% while the Topix index declined 1.02%. Shares of Japanese automaker Nissan Motor plummeted nearly 10% after the company on Tuesday forecast a 470 billion yen loss for the fiscal year 2020.
In South Korea, the Kospi was flat in morning trade. The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia dipped 0.17%.
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded about 0.3% lower.
Investor focus will likely be on the upcoming rate decision by the Fed, expected to be out sometime on Wednesday stateside.
“The (Federal Open Market Committee) will be the firm focus of market participants over the next 24 hours,” Kim Mundy, an economist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, wrote in a note.
“We expect that the FOMC will remain dovish and acknowledge that the US economic outlook has deteriorated since the 11 June meeting,” Mundy said. “Since 11 June, there have been more than 2 million new coronavirus cases in the US. This has slowed re‑opening efforts in some US states and as a result, increased the uncertainty around the pace of the US economic recovery.”
Australia inflation declines
On the economic data front, Australia’s Consumer Price Index fell 1.9% in the June 2020 quarter, according to data released by the country’s Bureau of Statistics (ABS). ABS Chief Economist Bruce Hockman said in a media release: “This was the largest quarterly fall in the 72 year history of the CPI.”
The ABS attributed the decline in the June quarter to factors such as free child care and a “significant fall” in the price of automotive fuel.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 93.761 — off an earlier low of 93.693.
The Japanese yen traded at 105.14 per dollar after strengthening from levels around 105.60 against the greenback yesterday. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7153 following its rise from levels around $0.71 early in the trading week.
Oil prices were mixed in the morning of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures up slightly to $43.24 per barrel. U.S. crude futures dipped 0.12% to $40.99 per barrel.
Source: CNBC