View of the Yarra River flowing through Melbourne city centre in Australia.
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Asia-Pacific markets were mixed as investors brace for the U.S. Federal Reserve’s rate decision on Wednesday.
The Fed is expected to approve what would be the 11th interest rate increase since March 2022.
Markets are pricing in an absolute certainty that the Fed will approve a quarter percentage point hike that will take its benchmark borrowing rate to a target range of 5.25%-5.5%. That would push the upper boundary of the federal funds rate to its highest level since January 2001.
In Australia, futures for the S&P/ASX 200 opened 0.1% up, ahead of its inflation figures for June. The inflation print comes ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s rate decision on August 1, and will be a key consideration for the central bank.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was down 0.46%, extending its losses from Tuesday, while the Topix also sunk 0.42%.
South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.52% in early trade, but the Kosdaq rose 0.62%, on pace to record a 11th day of gains in 12 days.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index is set to retreat after recording gains of over 4% on Tuesday, with futures at 19,390 compared to the HSI’s close of 19,434.4.
Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes finished higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average continuing to extend its winning streak to 12 days.
The 30-stock index rose 0.08% to mark its longest rally since February 2017, while the S&P 500 added 0.28% and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.61%.
— CNBC’s Sarah Min and Hakyung Kim contributed to this report