Nikkei 225 stumbled 0.8% to 35,867.33, S&P/ASX 200 skidded 0.3% to 7,989.90, Kospi slid 0.2% to 2,517.44, Hang Seng slipped 1.5% to 16,984.02, while Shanghai Composite slid 0.8% to 2,719.73
Asian shares were mostly down Wednesday after Wall Street drifted to a mixed finish.
Investors were watching for any market impact from the debate between the U.S. presidential candidates, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
The value of the U.S. dollar has risen against peers in the past when expectations for a Trump reelection have firmed, among other moves that have come to be known as part of the “Trump trade,” due in part to his calling for tariffs.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar declined to 141.72 Japanese yen from 142.41 yen. The euro cost $1.1036, up from $1.1023.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stumbled 0.8% in morning trading to 35,867.33, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 skidded 0.3% to 7,989.90.
South Korea’s Kospi slid 0.2% to 2,517.44 after data showed the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the nation edged down to 2.4% in August 2024 from 2.5% in July, the lowest in a year as the number of unemployed people declined.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 1.5% to 16,984.02, while the Shanghai Composite slid 0.8% to 2,719.73.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 gained 0.4% to pull within 3% of its record set in July.
It flipped between small gains and losses through the day driven by concerns about the slowing U.S. economy and whether expected cuts to interest rates will keep it out of a possible recession.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 92 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.8%.
Big Tech stocks helped drive indexes, but bank issues weighed on the market following discouraging comments from several executives at an industry conference.
