Asian stock markets were broadly mixed as U.S. stock futures pointed lower, while the U.S. dollar inched up on Thursday as investors awaited insights into the Federal Reserve’s rate cut path at the three-day annual symposium in Jackson Hole.
Central bankers from across the globe are set to attend the event, which kicks off later today, but the main focus will be Friday’s speech by Fed Chair Jerome Powell, as traders seek signals on the likelihood of a September rate cut.
Japan’s Nikkei falls from record high
In the Asian stock market, Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.66 percent as of 5:23 GMT, retreating further from Tuesday’s record high. Despite a tech-led selloff on Wall Street overnight, Japanese chip stocks showed mixed performance, with Advantest rising 0.7 percent and Tokyo Electron falling 2.32 percent.
South Korea’s KOSPI rebounded 0.75 percent after hitting a six-week low on Wednesday, while Australia’s benchmark climbed 0.94 percent, reaching a fresh all-time high. Mainland China’s blue-chip CSI 300 Index rose 0.84 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell a marginal 0.072 percent.
U.S. stock futures trade lower
In the U.S. stock market, futures were trading lower, with Nasdaq futures down 0.2 percent and S&P 500 futures falling 0.1 percent, following overnight losses of 0.7 percent for the Nasdaq Composite and 0.2 percent for the S&P 500 cash index.
On Tuesday, U.S. markets were predominantly bearish as the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined by 1.5 percent to close at 21,314.95, dragged down by significant losses in mega-cap technology stocks such as Nvidia, which fell 3.5 percent.
The U.S. dollar index was up 0.06 percent to 98.28.
Equity prices are starting to factor in the risk of disappointment at Jackson Hole, amid uncertainty over whether the Fed will move as dovishly as markets currently anticipate—or pivot at all.
According to the CME FedWatch tool, traders currently assign an 81.3 percent probability to a quarter-point rate cut on September 17, pricing in a total of 52 basis points of easing for the remainder of the year. On Wednesday, the odds for a cut next month were slightly higher at 84 percent.
Bitcoin recovers from 2.5-week low
Fed Chair Jerome Powell has expressed reluctance to cut rates due to anticipated tariff-driven price pressures this summer. Minutes from the Fed’s July meeting, released yesterday, showed that while policymakers voted to keep rates unchanged, Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman and Governor Christopher Waller were the only officials advocating for a rate cut.
Traders increased expectations for a September rate cut after a surprisingly weak payrolls report earlier this month, and were further encouraged by consumer price data showing limited upward pressure from tariffs. However, last week’s hotter-than-expected producer price reading added complexity to the Fed’s policy outlook.
As stock markets traded unevenly, bitcoin continued its recovery from a 2.5-week low of $112,386.93 on Wednesday, rising to around $114,690. Gold slipped slightly to about $3,342 per ounce.
Meanwhile, Oil prices inched higher as larger-than-expected declines in U.S. crude and fuel inventories bolstered expectations of steady demand. Brent crude futures rose 0.5 percent to $67.19 a barrel, following a 1.6 percent gain in the previous session, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude advanced 0.6 percent to $63.10, after climbing 1.4 percent on Wednesday.
