Asian stocks traded within narrow ranges following a decline in US shares, particularly in the technology sector. Japanese and Australian markets remained mostly unchanged, while Hong Kong equities saw slight gains in futures trading.
This mixed performance mirrored a lackluster session on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 ended lower and the Nasdaq 100 dropped 0.8%, weighed down by losses in Nvidia Corp. and Tesla Inc. shares. However, US equity futures saw gains during early trading in Asia.
In company news, Nippon Steel Corp. saw an increase in its stock price following reports that President Joe Biden is expected to express concerns about the company's proposed acquisition of United States Steel Corp. Conversely, US Steel experienced its largest intraday loss since June 2020, dropping by as much as 15%.
The Bank of Japan attracted attention as officials consider ending exchange-traded fund purchases initiated in 2010, amid rising inflation towards the bank's target.
Upcoming US economic data releases, including retail sales, producer prices, jobless claims, and consumer sentiment figures, will provide further insights into the state of the US economy ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision next week.
In China, investors are monitoring the repercussions of challenges facing the country's retail developers. Country Garden Holdings Co. missed a coupon payment on a yuan bond for the first time, while China Vanke Co. is negotiating with banks for a debt swap to avert its first bond default.
Elsewhere, the US House of Representatives passed a bill threatening to ban TikTok unless its Chinese owner, ByteDance Ltd., sells the video-sharing app.
Other developments in Asia include reports on wholesale prices in India, producer prices in Hong Kong, and potential releases of money supply and lending data for China.
In the financial markets, Treasury yields stabilized after rising four basis points on Wednesday, while the dollar index remained steady after a decline.
Meanwhile, oil prices maintained gains following a reduction in US crude stockpiles, and copper surged to an 11-month high due to concerns among Chinese smelters about processing fees. Bitcoin continued its rally above $73,000, and gold also advanced, reflecting ongoing positive momentum for both assets.
Paraphrasing text from "Yahoo Finance" all rights reserved by the original author.
