Wednesday saw most Asian stocks trading within a narrow range, with mixed signals from Wall Street and expectations for further guidance from the Federal Reserve keeping traders cautious. Japanese markets stood out, fueled by a weaker yen which boosted export-focused companies, pushing Japan's main indexes closer to record highs.
While Japanese equities surged, broader Asian markets mirrored overnight declines in Wall Street, with profit-taking in the tech sector and anticipation of key inflation data and Federal Reserve speeches dampening sentiment. Nonetheless, U.S. stock index futures showed marginal gains during Asian trading hours.
The Nikkei 225 and TOPIX index both rose by 0.9% on Wednesday, supported by export-oriented stocks and retail investors' interest in dividend-paying shares. This uptrend coincided with the yen reaching its weakest levels in decades against the U.S. dollar, driven partly by a dovish stance from the Bank of Japan.
Meanwhile, broader Asian markets struggled, echoing Wall Street's weakness and awaiting pivotal PCE price index data and Federal Reserve speeches later in the week. Chinese stocks faced persistent selling pressure, with weak risk appetite contributing to declines in mainland and Hong Kong markets.
Despite positive data showing a sharp rise in Chinese industrial profits, investors remained cautious, considering the impact of a weaker base from the previous year. Australia's ASX 200 edged up, supported by subdued consumer price index inflation in February, which suggested a less hawkish stance from the Reserve Bank of Australia.
South Korea's KOSPI index remained flat, with gains in local chipmakers moderating. However, SK Hynix Inc. saw a notable increase after its CEO expressed optimism about increased demand from the artificial intelligence sector. Indian Nifty 50 futures indicated a slightly negative start, tracking declines in other Asian markets.
Paraphrasing text from "Investing" all rights reserved by the original author.
