The Asia-Pacific equity market mostly in red on Wednesday as investors processed the latest inflation data from China. Investors also continued to assess Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s testimony before the Senate, while looking ahead to his appearance before the House later today.
Japan (NKY:IND) +0.61%. The index hovers at all-time highs as investors react to the latest producer inflation data in Japan. Japan’s corporate goods price index increased 2.9% year-on-year in June, the highest reading since August last year.
China (SHCOMP) -0.68%. As traders digested recent inflation data from China, the annual inflation rate edged down to 0.2% in June from 0.3% in the previous two months, falling short of market estimates of 0.4%. Meanwhile, producer prices shrank 0.8%, extending drops for 21 months.
China’s vehicle sales dropped by 2.7% from a year earlier in June 2024, reversing a 1.5% rise in the previous month. Meanwhile, a separate report from the China Passenger Car Association revealed that new energy vehicle sales accounted for 48.1% of total car sales in June.
Hong Kong (HSI) -0.30%.
India (SENSEX) -0.71%. Traders profit-taking after the BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 reached a fresh record high on Tuesday.
Australia (AS51) -0.16%. Gives back gains from the previous session. Seasonally adjusted private house approvals in Australia rose 2.1% month-over-month in May 2024.
The seasonally adjusted estimate for total dwellings approved in Australia jumped by 5.5% month-over-month to 14,175 units in May 2024.
In the U.S., on Tuesday, all three major indexes ended mostly higher after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s testimony before the Senate. He noted that the central bank is getting closer to considering interest rate cuts and expressed optimism about signs of cooling inflation, stating that “more good data would strengthen our confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2%.”
U.S. stock futures were little changed on Wednesday: Dow -0.04%; S&P 500 +0.08%; Nasdaq +0.19%.
Investors now look ahead to Powell’s appearance before the House on Wednesday, as well as key US inflation figures later this week, for further clues on the monetary policy path.
Bitcoin climbed above $59,000 on Wednesday, hitting a one-week-high.
Currencies: (JPY:USD), (CNY:USD), (AUD:USD), (INR:USD), (HKD:USD), (NZD:USD).