- Asian stocks mostly edge lower on Wednesday despite their higher US counterparts.
- Investors remain concerned about Beijing’s plan to introduce a real estate tax, the latest COVID-19 outbreak.
- Upbeat Australia’s quarterly CPI figures fuel early RBA’s rate hike bets.
Asia-Pacific stocks edge lower amid reduced risk appetite ahead of major central banking policy decisions. Further, investors remained concerned about higher inflation and the indebted real estate sector in China.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged down 0.53%, so far.
The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.47%, following fresh concerns after another real-estate developer, Modern Land defaulted. Chinese authorities asked Evergrande Group’s founder Hui Ka Yan to use his personal wealth to pay off the firm’s debt. Further, there were 59 confirmed coronavirus cases as compared to 43 on the previous day.
The Nikkei 225 index declined 0.4% as investors geared up for the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) monetary policy update on Thursday.
The ASX 200 traded 0.4% higher on Wednesday. The market sentiment was underpinned by ongoing economic reopening plans. Australia’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.8% in September on a quarterly basis, as per the market expectations.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 1.80% while South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.71% on the day.
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