Asian Shares Turn In Mixed Performance After FOMC Minutes

Asian stocks turned in a mixed performance on Wednesday and the dollar steadied near its weakest level in almost three months after the Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes largely reaffirmed the U.S. central bank’s more cautious stance on interest rates.

U.S. Treasury yields edged up slightly as investors pared down bets on interest rate cuts next year.

Gold rose slightly to trade above the key $2,000 per ounce level in Asian trading, while oil prices were marginally higher ahead of this weekend’s OPEC+ meeting.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.8 percent to 3,043.61 following the arrest of DouYu chairman and CEO Chen Shaojie for allegedly hosting online gambling.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index ended little changed at 17,734.60 after Nvidia warned that sales to China will decline significantly.

The U.S. chipmaker’s third-quarter earnings topped Wall Street expectations once again, but shares fell after U.S. market hours due to the company’s downbeat Chinese sales outlook.

Japanese markets rebounded from a one-week low as a weaker yen lifted exporter shares. The Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.3 percent to 33,451.83, while the broader Topix Index settled 0.4 percent higher at 2,378.19.

Automakers Honda Motor and Mazda Motor rose about 1 percent each. Semiconductor test equipment supplier Advantest slumped 4.3 percent and Tokyo Electron shed 0.9 percent.

South Korea’s Kospi finished marginally higher at 2,511.70 after falling in early trading. LG Chem rose 0.6 percent and Korea Electric Power gained 1.1 percent, while LG Energy Solution and Korean Air both fell over 1 percent.

Australian markets ended marginally lower, dragged down by tech and real estate stocks. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index ended little changed at 7,073.40 ahead of an address by Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock at the Australian Business Economists annual dinner. The broader All Ordinaries Index slipped 0.2 percent to 7,277.80.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index closed marginally higher at 11,169.80.

U.S. stocks ended slightly lower overnight as retail earnings disappointed and minutes from the Fed’s last rate-setting meeting showed officials expect to keep interest rates at a restrictive level for “some time” and raise interest rates if progress in controlling inflation faltered.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 0.6 percent to snap a five-session winning streak, while the S&P 500 and the Dow eased around 0.2 percent each.

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