Asian shares mostly higher ahead of Jackson Hole
Asian equities traded mostly higher on Thursday after Wall Street pared early steep losses, with heavyweight tech names including Nvidia and Palantir easing back.
Attention now turns to the Jackson Hole central banking conference in Wyoming, where Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak on Friday, with traders looking for guidance on US monetary policy.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 slipped 0.6pc to 42,636.74 after a survey showed Japan’s factory activity contracted for a second month in August. The flash S&P Global manufacturing PMI rose to 49.9 from 48.9 in July, just shy of the 50 threshold that signals growth. Japanese exporters remain under pressure from higher US tariffs introduced by the Trump administration.
Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dipped 0.1pc to 25,135.09, while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.4pc to 3,779.52. South Korea’s Kospi advanced 1pc to 3,161.74 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1pc to 9,005.00. Taiwan’s Taiex climbed 1.2pc and India’s Sensex edged 0.1pc higher.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 closed 0.26pc lower at 6,394.97, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.68pc to 21,170.19. Tech stocks were mixed: Palantir fell 1.1pc, Nvidia eased 0.14pc, and Intel slid 8.86pc.
