Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Wednesday, as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell overnight acknowledged that inflation is declining — a sign the central bank may soon pause its rate hikes. U.S. futures, meanwhile, are mixed after President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index lost 79.01 points, or 0.3%, to 27,606.46, dragged down by declining shares of Sharp, Nintendo and Softbank after posting disappointing results.
Shares of Sharp listed in Tokyo fell 11.55% in Asia’s afternoon session after the company reported a net loss of 17.59 billion yen ($134 million) in its three-month period ending in Dec. 2022.
This was a steep decline from the 28.32-billion-yen net profit in the same period the year before.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index dipped 15.18 points, or 0.1%, to 21,283.52.
Real estate investor Hines sees significant growth opportunities in South Korea despite rising rates as it announced plans to develop a $1 billion mixed-use complex in Busan.
Hines said in a press release that the ‘Global Quantum Complex’ in Busan will house South Korea’s first quantum computing R&D hub, as well as office and education spaces.
In Australia, markets were on the rise again as investors further digested the Reserve Bank of Australia’s Tuesday hike that also included hawkish commentary.
In other markets
The Shanghai CSI 300 docked 18.09 points, or 0.4%, to 4,076.14.
In Korea, the Kospi gained 31.93 points, or 1.3%, to 2,438.64.
In Singapore, the Straits Times recovered 7.68 points, or 0.2%, to 3,388.52.
In Taiwan, the Taiex vaulted 217.26 points, or 1.4%, to 15,618.17.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 popped 82.98 points, or 0.7%, to 12,211.96.
In Australia, the ASX 200 restocked 25.93 points, or 0.4%, to 7,530.07.