An investor watching share prices at the securities trading floor of Asia Commercial Bank in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Hoang Dinh Nam | AFP | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific stocks fell Thursday as investors awaited U.S. personal consumption expenditures price index data for clues on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate path.
The U.S. personal consumption expenditures price index — the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge — is due later in the day, while China’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index reading is scheduled to be released Friday.
Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 16,564, pointing to a marginally higher open compared to the HSI’s close of 16,536.85 .
Hong Kong on Wednesday said it would do away with property curbs in an effort to buoy its real estate sector and forecast economic growth in a range of 2.5% to 3.5% for 2024.
Separately, Walt Disney and Indian conglomerate Reliance will merge their Indian businesses. The combined entity was valued at roughly $8.5 billion on a post-money basis, excluding synergies.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.7% at open, while the Topix declined 0.3%. The Nikkei 225 had hit a record high earlier in the week.
South Korea’s Kospi opened down 0.8%, while the small cap Kosdaq shed 0.6%.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.2%.
U.S. stock markets slid Wednesday as investors awaited the Fed’s preferred inflation report.
The S&P 500 fell 0.17%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.55%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 23.39 points, or 0.06% to clock a third straight day of losses.
— CNBC’s Hakyung Kim and Brian Evans contributed to this report.