Asian stocks mostly fell on Wednesday as markets processed business data from Japan and Australia.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 dipped 0.2% in morning trading to 39,508.84, with the Japanese yen trading at its highest level in months ahead of the Bank of Japan’s policy decision next week.
A business survey released on Wednesday indicated that Japan’s factory activity contracted in July due to weak demand impacting the manufacturing sector. However, growth in the services sector helped drive overall activity in Japan’s private sector.
In other parts of Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.6% to 17,370.09, led by a 0.9% fall in the Hang Seng Tech Index. The Shanghai Composite remained nearly unchanged at 2,915.46.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 inched up 0.1% to 7,973.20 despite weaker growth in its services sector in July. Manufacturing saw a slight improvement but continued to contract.
South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.3% to 2,772.55, with Samsung Electronics falling 1.1% after negotiations with its largest workers’ union ended without an agreement. Earlier this month, workers began an indefinite strike demanding higher pay and other benefits.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 lost 8.67 points, or 0.16%, closing at 5,555.74, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 10.22 points, or 0.06%, to 17,997.35. The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased by 57.35 points, or 0.14%, to 40,358.09.
Eight of the major S&P sectors ended in the red, with the energy index being the worst performer, down 1.6% as US crude prices hit a six-week low.
The yield on benchmark US 10-year Treasury bonds rose by 0.9 basis points to 4.246%.
