An investor watching share prices at the securities trading floor of Asia Commercial Bank in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Hoang Dinh Nam | AFP | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific stocks fell Thursday as investors awaited U.S. personal consumption expenditures price index data for clues on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate path.
The U.S. personal consumption expenditures price index — the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge — is due later in the day, while China’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index reading is scheduled to be released Friday.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index edged 0.2% higher, while China’s CSI 300 rose 0.6% at open.
Hong Kong on Wednesday said it would do away with property curbs in an effort to buoy its real estate sector and forecast economic growth in a range of 2.5% to 3.5% for 2024.
Separately, Walt Disney and Indian conglomerate Reliance will merge their Indian businesses. The combined entity was valued at roughly $8.5 billion on a post-money basis, excluding synergies.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.4%, while the Topix declined 0.4%. The Nikkei 225 had hit a record high earlier in the week.
South Korea’s Kospi shed 0.5%, while the small cap Kosdaq dipped 0.2%.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.1%.
U.S. stock markets slid Wednesday as investors awaited the Fed’s preferred inflation report.
The S&P 500 fell 0.17%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.55%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 23.39 points, or 0.06% to clock a third straight day of losses.
— CNBC’s Hakyung Kim and Brian Evans contributed to this report.
