Asian markets were relatively subdued early on Wednesday, with most regional indexes hovering around the flat line following the softer lead stateside.
The 2-year U.S. Treasury note yield touched its highest levels in almost a decade overnight.
Australian corporates take center stage on the earnings front on Wednesday.
Asian markets were relatively subdued early on Wednesday, with most regional indexes hovering around the flat line following the softer lead stateside.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index was fairly muted, trading higher by 0.06 percent in the morning after falling more than 1 percent in the last session. Manufacturing stocks traded slightly higher early on, with Fanuc Manufacturing edging up by 0.09 percent.
Automakers and technology names were mixed, while bank stocks came under pressure early on. Among blue chip names, Toyota gained 0.3 percent, Honda rose 1.37 percent and SoftBank Group slid 0.87 percent.
Symbol
Name
Price
Change
%Change
NIKKEI NIKKEI 21992.90 67.80 0.31%
HSI HSI 30873.63
UNCH 0%
ASX 200 S&P/ASX 200 5941.30 0.40 0.01%
SHANGHAI Shanghai 3199.48 14.52 0.46%
KOSPI KOSPI Index 2417.56 2.44 0.10%
CNBC 100 CNBC 100 ASIA IDX 8846.98 -13.99 -0.16%
Meanwhile, the Kospi erased early losses to creep higher by 0.1 percent.
Steelmakers traded lower after the South Korean government submitted a World Trade Organization complaint over U.S. duties. Posco fell 1.51 percent and Hyundai Steel was down 1.33 percent on the day.
Down Under, the S&P/ASX 200 hovered around the flat line as investors focused on earnings releases. Gains in the consumer staples and discretionary sectors were offset by losses in the heavily weighted financials and materials sectors.
Major miners were in the red in the early going. Shares of Fortescue Metals Group fell 4.1 percent after the company earlier reported that net profit after tax fell 44 percent to $681 million in the six months ending December. BHP was down 5.02 percent after the mining major reported first-half earnings on Tuesday.
Australian conglomerate Wesfarmers reported on Tuesday that first-half net profit after tax came in at 212 million Australian dollars ($167 million) — an 86.6 percent decline compared to one year ago. Excluding a A$1.3 billion writedown, net profit stood at A$1.54 billion ($1.21 billion), a 2.7 percent decline from a year ago. Wesfarmers shares were up 3.28 percent in the morning.
Markets in China remain closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.
The Dow Jones industrial average lost 1.01 percent, or 254.63 points, snapping a six-day winning streak. The steep losses came on the back of Walmart stock tumbling 10.2 percent after the retailer reported lower-than-expected earnings. Other U.S. stock indexes saw smaller declines.
Higher U.S. bond yields pressured stocks. The 2-year Treasury note yield stood at 2.224 percent after touching its highest levels in almost a decade overnight. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note stood at 2.89 percent at the end of Tuesday.
The dollar firmed overnight following the overnight U.S. Treasury auction. The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. currency against a basket of six rivals, stood at 89.716 at the end of Tuesday. Against the yen, the dollar was steady at 107.30.
On the commodities front, U.S. crude futures slipped 0.28 percent to trade at $61.62 per barrel. Brent crude futures, which had yet to trade, settled 0.6 percent lower at $65.25 per barrel on Tuesday as the dollar firmed.
What's on tap
Here's the economic calendar for Wednesday (all times in HK/SIN):
3:00 p.m.: Indonesia loan growt
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