Asian Pacific indices were performing in a mixed fashion at the start of Wednesday's session, following a downward trend in US benchmarks as last week's inflation uptick cast doubts on the prospect of lower interest rates.
S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.2% and the KOSPI 200 declined 0.9% while the Nikkei 225 lifted 1.2%
Among major US indices, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 231 points to 37361, while the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ Composite dropped by 0.4% and 0.2% respectively.
Upgrade your trading decisions with InvestingPro+! Use discount code “INVPRODEAL” and receive an additional 10% off the InvestingPro+ bi-yearly subscription. Click here! and don't forget the discount code.
Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) 7.9% fall came after the Wall Street Journal reported fresh delays in the company's delivery of 737 MAX jets to China, following an emergency landing by an Alaska Airlines flight due to a part of the plane falling off.
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller indicated that the process of lowering rates should be "carefully calibrated and not rushed," which led to a 4.2% drop in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) shares after announcing a 32% profit decline. On the other hand, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) saw a 0.7% gain after reporting a 51% profit increase.
In the commodities market, Brent crude oil fell 0.6% to US$77.72 a barrel, while gold declined 1.4% to US$2,027.79.
Local bond markets saw an increase in the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds to 3.84%, while the 10 Year yield rose to 4.15%. US Treasury notes also went up, with the 2 Year yield at 4.22% and the 10 Year yield at 4.05%.
Chinese shares closed mostly higher, with investors focusing on China's Q4 GDP data due Wednesday for more signals on the country's economic growth. Insurance stocks led the session's gains, with New China Life Insurance rising 2.8% after strong December sales and China Pacific Insurance gaining 2.2%.
Hong Kong shares ended lower for the third consecutive session, mainly due to weak sentiment in Chinese property stocks after disappointing 2023 contracted sales. The Hang Seng Tech Index dropped 2.3%.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.8% to close at 35619.18, likely due to a technical correction following the benchmark index's recent rally. However, losses may have been limited by yen weakness, which typically benefits overseas earnings of domestic exporters when repatriated to Japan.
Indian shares ended slightly lower after reaching a fresh high in the previous session. Information technology stocks weighed on the market, with Wipro down 1.9% and HCL Technologies dropping 2.05%.
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 closed 0.2% lower at 473.06, hitting a five-week intraday low of 470.22 as interest-rate cut prospects dwindled after several European Central Bank officials suggested that rate cuts look unlikely. The FTSE 100 closed Tuesday down 0.48%, plummeting to one-month lows as the prospect that rate cuts may only come much later in 2024 saw yields rebound from their recent lows.