Illuminated skyscrapers in the central business district at sunset on November 13, 2023 in Beijing, China.
Vcg China Visual Group | Getty Images
The Asia-Pacific market opened lower on Wednesday, with Japan’s Nikkei losing, after declining on Wall Street.
Investors will be watching for more stimulus measures to support China’s real estate sector as the housing minister will hold a press briefing on Thursday at 10 a.m. local time, according to a statement from the State Council Information Office on Tuesday.
Traders in Asia, meanwhile, are evaluating economic data from the region. New Zealand reported that its consumer price index for the third quarter rose 2.2% year-on-year, in line with the expectations of economists in a Reuters poll. It rose 0.6% in the quarter, slightly lower than the anticipated 0.7%.
South Korea’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate came in at 2.5% in September, compared to 2.4% in August.
Japan Nikkei 225 fell 1.85%, while the broad-based Topix fell 1.13%.
Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index were at 20,096, lower than the previous close of 20,318.79 – the index lost 3.7% after a volatile session on Tuesday.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 start the day 0.4% lower.
South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.22% and the small-cap Kosdaq fell 0.93%.
Overnight in the US, stocks tumbled amid corporate earnings season.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 324.80 points, or 0.75%, to close at 42,740.42. The 30-stock average touched a new intraday high before the slide. The S&P 500 fell 0.76% to 5,815.26, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.01% to 18,315.59.
That decline followed a winning session on Monday that sent the S&P 500 and the Dow to record highs.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose slightly on Wednesday, after falling more than 4% overnight, following reports that Israel told the US it did not plan to target Iranian oil facilities.
— CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han and Yun Li contributed to this report.
