Investing.com - Asian Pacific sharemarkets opened mixed, after Wall Street's continued fall as hopes for interest rate cuts weaken.
By 12:00 pm AEDT (1:00 am GMT) the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.5%, the KOSPI 200 lifted 0.5%, while the Nikkei 225 remained flat.
U.S. stocks fell again as investors weighed cautious statements from central bankers over the pace of any upcoming interest rate decreases as U.S. economic data remains resilient. Treasury yields rose as derivative markets price in slower cuts. U.S. retail sales rose more than expected in December, adding to bets that the Fed could remain patient. Spirit Airlines Inc (NYSE:SAVE) dropped another 23% after a judge blocked its $3.8 billion takeover by JetBlue Airways. The Dow fell 94 points to 37266, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq fell 0.6% apiece.
In commodity markets, Brent crude oil fell 0.4% to US$77.96 a barrel, while gold decreased by 1.1% to US$2,006.09. The yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds rose to 3.88%, while the 10 Year yield increased to 4.21%. US Treasury notes also saw a rise, with the 2 Year yield at 4.35% and the 10 Year yield at 4.10%. The Australian dollar dipped to 65.42 US cents from the previous close of 65.82.
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Chinese shares closed lower due to subdued sentiment following weak domestic economic data. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 2.1%, the Shenzhen Composite Index declined by 2.5%, and the ChiNext Price Index dropped by 3.0%.
Hong Kong shares also ended lower due to weak Chinese economic data and remarks from Federal Reserve officials refocusing attention on the timing of rate cuts this year. The benchmark Hang Seng Index was down 3.7% at 15276.90, marking the largest one-day percentage loss since October 2022.
Japanese stocks ended lower, dragged down by falls in pharmaceutical and chemical stocks. The Nikkei Stock Average closed 0.4% lower at 35477.75.
Indian shares closed lower, weighed down by bank stocks following HDFC Bank's 3Q results. The benchmark Sensex ended 2.2% lower at 71500.76.
European equities concluded the trading day in the red, with the Stoxx Europe 600 index seeing a decline of 1.1% to settle at 467.71. This followed comments from central bank policymakers that cast uncertainty over the likelihood of imminent interest rate reductions. The FTSE 100 index also experienced a downward trend, closing Wednesday down by 1.48%. This was largely due to dwindling expectations of a UK rate cut and the impact of a strengthening US dollar, both of which weighed heavily on the index.