Asian Stocks Decline As Wall Street Fluctuates Ahead Of CPI Data

Most Asian stocks fell in early trade on Wednesday, taking mixed cues from Wall Street ahead of US inflation data and presidential debate.

Benchmarks in Hong Kong and Japan led the fall while Taiwan and Indonesian stocks edged higher. The US Future contracts hinted at a negative start. The Nikkei 225 was 0.76% lower at 35,887, and the Hang Sang was down 1.1% at 17,045 as of 8:06 a.m.

Meanwhile, crude oil prices remained below the $70 market after plunging to the lowest close since late 2021 on concerns over global demand.

Traders will eye the upcoming CPI data in the US due on Wednesday, hoping that it may aid the Fed in shifting focus to a soft landing. During the session, South Korea’s bank lending rates to households will also be announced.

A cautious trade in Asia comes after a sell-off in early week triggered by economic concerns on whether the Federal Reserve may have waited too long to cut interest rates. The US payroll data that came in last week pointed out that US jobs rose at a less-than-expected pace.

Traders pared the chance of a half-point rate reduction at the Fed’s September meeting to about 20% from as high as 50% last week, according to Bloomberg.  

The GIFT Nifty, an early indicator of the Nifty 50’s performance in India, was down 29 points, or 0.12%, at 25,084.5 as of 08:08 a.m.

The US stocks fluctuated throughout the session on Tuesday as traders awaited further cues from the country's inflation print and the presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.

Wall's Street's banking stocks led the declines on cautious outlook from industry leaders which added to the fears that goldilocks era is coming to an end. JPMorgan cut down expectations for next year’s net interest income. Ally Financial, a major auto lender, issued a warning on consumer credit metrics.

While banks weighed the indices, a renewed buying in information technology stocks lifted most benchmarks in the US. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose 0.45% and 0.84%, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.23%.

The Treasury 10-year yields dropped six basis points to 3.64 while the dollar index remained flat ahead of the CPI print.

Oil prices advanced after a rout during the previous session. Brent crude was trading 0.52% higher at $69.55 a barrel as of 5:59 a.m. IST. West Texas Intermediate was up 0.61% at 66.15.

• US Dollar Index at 101.66.

• US 10-year bond yield at 3.64%.

• Brent crude up 0.52% at $69.55 per barrel.

• Bitcoin was down 0.12% at $57,505.93.

• Gold was up 0.10% at $2,519.36 an ounce.