Asia-Pacific markets set to open mostly higher as investors parse Fed's latest comments - NBC10 Philadelphia
This is CNBC's live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.
Singapore stocks hit a record high on Wednesday amid mixed trading in the Asia-Pacific region, as investors digested the latest comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Powell said Tuesday that the central bank would have already cut interest rates if it weren't for U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff initiatives.
Singapore equities climbed 0.45% to a record high of 4,008.85 points Wednesday afternoon, data from LSEG showed.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 slid 0.56% to close at 39,762.48, and the Topix lost 0.21% to 2,826.04. South Korea's Kospi was 0.47% lower at 3,075.06 while the Kosdaq declined 0.19% to 782.17.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 inched up 0.66% to end the trading day at 8,597.7.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.73% while the mainland CSI 300 was flat at 3,943.68.
U.S. stock futures inched higher Asian hours after investors began the second half of the year with a reduced appetite for technology stocks.
Overnight stateside, the three major averages closed mixed. The S&P 500 inched down 0.11% and closed at 6,198.01, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.82% to settle at 20,202.89. The blue-chip Dow was the outlier, gaining 400.17 points, or 0.91%, to end at 44,494.94.
— CNBC's Sean Conlon and Tanaya Macheel contributed to this report.
Thailand stock markets slipped 0.41% after the country's prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatrawas suspended from office by the Constitutional Court over a leaked phone conversation with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen.
The leak coincided with a sensitive moment for Paetongtarn and the ruling Pheu Thai party, which was already grappling with economic woes and an escalating border dispute with Cambodia.
The Thai baht last traded flat at 32.42 against the dollar.
— Lee Ying Shan
Macau's gaming stocks rose after its city's monthly gaming revenue in June surged 19% from a year ago.
Casinos brought in nearly 21.1 billion patacas ($2.6 billion) last month, data from the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) showed.
Shares of Sands China rose 7.22%, while MGM China Holdings jumped 7.92%. Wynn Macau and Galaxy Entertainment rose 6.83% and 7.17% respectively.
—Lee Ying Shan
Singapore equities climbed 0.4% to a record high of 4,005.39 points Wednesday morning local time, beating its last record on March 28, data from LSEG showed.
UBS on Tuesday upgraded Singapore equities to Attractive. "The market offers a defensive safe haven amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, backed by a stable currency, generous dividend yields, and a steady earnings outlook," said Tan Min Lan, head chief investment office in the APAC team at UBS Global Wealth Management.
"The ongoing equity market reforms provide additional catalysts in the form of a SGD 5 billion capital injection and potential value-up initiatives to unlock shareholder value," she added.
—Lee Ying Shan
South Korea's headline inflation rate in June rose at its fastest pace since January, coming in at 2.2% year over year.
The inflation figure was higher than the 2.1% expected by economists polled by Reuters, and higher than the 1.9% seen in May.
The country's core inflation rate — which strips out food and energy costs — held steady at 2% compared to the same month of the previous year, and 0.1% higher than May.
— Lim Hui Jie
Japanese stocks declined by more than 1% as Asia-Pacific markets opened mostly lower.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 1.16% at the open, and the Topix declined 0.4% after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened fresh tariffs on Japan.
South Korea's Kospi was 0.84% lower and the small-cap Kosdaq was flat.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.43%.
—Lee Ying Shan
Good morning from Singapore. It's 7.29 a.m. local time and futures are pointing toward a mostly higher open.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 is set to open lower, with the futures contract in Chicago at 39,665 while its counterpart in Osaka last traded at 39,570, against the index's last close of 39,986.33.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 is poised for a higher open with futures tied to the benchmark at 8,558 compared to its last close of 8,541.1.
Futures for Hong Kong's Hang Seng index stood at 24,170, higher than its last close of 24,072.28.
—Lee Ying Shan
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell walks to attend a press conference following the issuance of the Federal Open Market Committee's statement on interest rate policy in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 18, 2025.
Although Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said last week that he expects policymakers to remain on hold until there's more clarity on the impact of President Donald Trump's tariffs on prices, the central bank may look to cut interest rates if there's a downturn in the labor market.
"Occam's razor suggests that inflation is already stuck above target, with risks to the upside from tariffs over the next several months," wrote economist Aditya Bhave in a Tuesday note. "The Fed might still cut rates this year if there is compelling evidence of labor market deterioration. But the lack of progress on inflation raises the bar for cuts."
Additionally, Bhave anticipates there could be much more impact to the U.S. economy from tariffs ahead.
"An optimistic take on the data would be that the pickup in goods inflation reflects some preemptive price hikes ahead of the tariffs," he continued. "Still, there is most likely a lot more tariff-driven inflation in the pipeline."
— Sean Conlon
