Asia-Pacific markets opened lower on Wednesday, despite gains on Wall Street ahead of the U.S. August consumer inflation report due Wednesday.
Traders in Asia parsed key economic data from Japan and South Korea. South Korea reported that unemployment fell to 2.4% in August, the lowest level since 1999, when the data series commenced, according to Statistics Korea.
The Reuters Tankan survey, a monthly poll that tracks business sentiment in Japan, showed that business confidence in big manufacturers dipped to plus 4 in September, a seven-month low, from plus 10 in August. The sentiment for non-manufacturers declined for a third consecutive month to plus 23, from plus 24.
Meanwhile, the U.S. presidential debate between Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris is the immediate focus for investors. The two presidential candidates have yet to agree on a second debate, meaning the event could be their only face-off before Election Day.
Separately, the Federal Trade Commission has warned Japanese retail company Seven & i that it may probe its potential deal with Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard, Reuters reported, citing two sources.
Seven & i recently rejected Couch-Tard’s proposal, partially over U.S. antitrust concerns. The company’s shares fell nearly 2% Wednesday morning.
Chipmaking powerhouse Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp announced its August revenue of 250.87 billion New Taiwan Dollars ($7.8 billion), increasing 33% year-on-year while dropping 2.4% from July.
The company’s shares declined marginally after the monthly revenue release.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was 0.72% down and the broad-based Topix was 0.84% lower, extending a six-day losing streak.
Japanese yen strengthened to its highest level since January, dipping below the 142 mark against the U.S. dollar to trade at 141.84.
South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.2%, while the small-cap Kosdaq rose 1.61%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.24%.
Hong Kong Hang Seng index declined 1.2% and the mainland China’s CSI 300 Index was down marginally.
Overnight in the U.S., stocks wavered through Tuesday’s trading session, with two of the three major U.S. indexes ending in the green, as traders are betting that a widely anticipated interest rate cut at the Federal Reserve September meeting would assuage concerns over a weakening economy.
The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.45% and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.84%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.23%.
—CNBC’s Brian Evans and Pia Singh contributed to this report.
By CNBC