Asian Stock Markets Dip Ahead Of U.S. Inflation Report

Asian shares declined in muted trading Wednesday as investors awaited an upcoming report on inflation in the United States, an important indicator for where interest rates and global growth might go in the coming months, Yuri Kageyama reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: Shares in Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea were among those that sunk.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.4% in afternoon trading to 29,136.92. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 inched down 0.1% to 7,255.70. South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.9% to 2,488.42. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dipped 0.4% to 19,783.56, while the Shanghai Composite shed 1.4% to 3,309.98.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell 18.95 points, or 0.5%, to 4,119.17. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 56.88, or 0.2%, to 33,561.81, while the Nasdaq composite fell 77.37, or 0.6%, to 12,179.55.

In the bond market, the 10-year Treasury yield rose to 3.52% from 3.51%. The two-year Treasury yield, which moves more on expectations for the Fed, rose to 4.02% from 4.00%. In energy trading, benchmark US crude lost 57 cents to $73.14 a barrel.

Brent crude, the international standard, fell 55 cents to $76.89 a barrel. In currency trading, the US dollar rose to 135.35 Japanese yen from 135.18 yen. The euro cost $1.0971, inching up from $1.0967, Stan Choe also reported for AP.

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