Asian stocks faltered in volatile trading as markets awaited a crucial US inflation report due later this week.
Meanwhile, the yen hovered just below the 160 per dollar level, keeping traders on alert for potential intervention by Japanese authorities.
The market sentiment was further dampened by comments from Federal Reserve officials, who cast doubt on the likelihood of imminent interest rate cuts.
A rise in Australian consumer inflation to a six-month high in May boosted the Australian dollar to its highest level in two weeks.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan struggled for direction, remaining flat at 566.53, close to the two-year high of 573.38 it reached last week.
Japan’s Nikkei and Taiwan stocks climbed, led by chipmakers, following the tech-heavy Nasdaq’s rally on Tuesday. Nvidia surged over 6%, recovering from a three-session downturn that had wiped about $430 billion from its market value.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, comprising 30 major US companies, fell by 0.8% to 39,112.16. The S&P 500 rose by 0.4% to 5,469.30, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.3% to 17,717.65.
In the bond market, Treasury yields remained relatively steady. The yield on benchmark 10-year US Treasury bonds stayed at 4.23%, unchanged from late Monday.
