Lamp posts in front of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) building in Sydney, Australia, on Monday, Feb. 6, 2023.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Most Asia-Pacific markets fell Tuesday, tracking declines in Wall Street overnight, while investors also awaited the interest rate decision from the Reserve Bank of Australia later in the day.
Twenty-nine economists polled by Reuters unanimously expect the RBA to hold rates at 4.35%.
In Japan, household spending dipped more than expected in December, falling 2.5% year on year compared with the 2.1% expected by economists polled by Reuters.
The average monthly income per household for December stood at 1,099,805 yen, falling 4.4% in nominal terms and down 7.2% in real terms from the previous year.
The Bank of Japan has said sustainable wage increases are one of the prerequisites for unwinding its ultra-loose monetary policy.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 extended losses from Tuesday, falling 0.92% ahead of the RBA decision.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.25%, while the Topix saw a larger loss of 0.37%.
South Korea’s Kospi bucked the trend to gain 0.23%, while the small-cap Kosdaq lost 0.16%.
Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 15,650, pointing to a stronger open compared with the HSI’s close of 15,510.01.
Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes lost ground as Treasury yields spiked higher on concerns the Federal Reserve might not cut rates as much as expected. Lackluster results from McDonald’s also dampened investor sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.71%, while the S&P 500 retreated from its all-time high, slipping 0.32%. The Nasdaq Composite edged down 0.2%
— CNBC’s Samantha Subin and Jesse Pound contributed to this report