By Gina Lee
Investing.com – Asia Pacific stocks were mostly down on Wednesday morning as investors remained concerned about the risk from elevated inflation and the indebted real estate sector in China.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.62% by 10:47 PM ET (2:47 AM GMT). The Bank of Japan will release its monetary policy decision on Thursday.
South Korea’s KOSPI fell 0.71%.
In Australia, the ASX 200 inched up 0.06% as the Australia Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.8% in the third quarter of 2021.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index down 1.80%
China’s Shanghai Composite was down 1.12% while the Shenzhen Component was fell 0.64%. Chinese authorities required China Evergrande (HK:3333) Group’s founder Hui Ka Yan to use his personal wealth to alleviate the firm’s debts.
Due to the crisis at China Evergrande Group and other property developers in the country, a top Chinese regulator warned that companies should make “active preparations” to meet payments on their offshore bonds.
In the U.S., the reporting season has been steady overall when investors are counting on earnings to support equity prices. However, the rising raw material and wage costs and supply chain are still on investors’ radars.
“Downside risks to the economy remain but investors are opting to look beyond these as companies continue to give us plenty of reason to be optimistic about what lies ahead,” Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, said in a note. Such “enthusiasm may come and go, creating plenty of two-way action in the markets,” he added.
On the data front, investors await U.S. Gross Domestic Product and the U.S. Initial Jobless Claims to be released on Thursday.
Across the Atlantic, the European Central Bank interest rates decision will be released on Thursday.