Asia report: Markets mixed as investors look to Fed meeting

Asia-Pacific stock markets delivered a mixed performance on Tuesday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 leading declines amid a strengthening yen.

Investors across the region remained cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve's anticipated shift toward monetary loosening.

“Asian equities were mixed in thin trade, as markets in mainland China and South Korea were closed for public holidays,” said TickMill’s Patrick Munnelly.

“In Asian trading, the dollar was held down by rate-cut bets, and gold was marginally higher.

Oil extended overnight gains due to concerns regarding Hurricane Francine's influence on US Gulf of Mexico output.”

Munnelly noted that the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong rose more than 1%.

“The dollar's value against the yen was at its lowest in over a year, as tech equities followed their US counterparts lower and Japan's Nikkei average declined by 1.5%.

“A decrease in US Treasury yields exacerbated this decline.”

Markets mixed on another quiet day for regional trading

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dropped 1.03% to close at 36,203.22 after falling as much as 2% earlier in the session.

Major losers on Tokyo’s benchmark index included Resona Holdings, which fell 6.38%, and tech giants Advantest and Tokyo Electron, which dropped 5.63% and 5.24%, respectively.

The broader Topix index declined 0.6% to 2,555.76.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index defied the regional trend, rising 1.37% to 17,660.02.

Leading the gains were Li Auto, up 6.26%, New World Development, which added 5.48%, and CK Asset Holdings, up 4.38%.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.24% to finish at 8,140.90.

Polynovo surged 6.53%, Centuria Capital Group gained 4.72%, and Telix Pharmaceuticals rose 3.82%, contributing to the index's modest advance.

In New Zealand, the S&P/NZX 50 slipped 0.26% to close at 12,671.95.

Freightways led losses with a 3.5% drop, followed by SkyCity Entertainment Group and Scales Corporation, which fell 2.8% and 2.78%, respectively.

Markets in China and South Korea remained closed for the respective Mid-Autumn Festival and Chuseok holidays.

In currency markets, the dollar was weaker across the board, last trading down 0.04% on the yen at JPY 140.56.

It was 0.2% lower against the Aussie at AUD 1.4782, while it retreated 0.05% from the Kiwi, changing hands at NZD 1.6117.

Oil prices declined, with Brent crude futures last down 0.48% on ICE at $72.40 per barrel, and the NYMEX quote for West Texas Intermediate slipping 0.34% to $69.85.

Non-oil expires increase less than expected in Singapore

In economic news, official figures showed that Singapore's non-oil domestic exports (NODX) increased 10.7% in August compared to the same month last year.

While it marked continued growth, the figure fell short of analysts' expectations, after a Reuters poll forecast a 15% year-on-year expansion.

On a month-on-month basis, Singapore's exports declined by 4.7% from July.

The drop was steeper than the expected 3.3% decrease projected by economists.

In India, preliminary data for August suggested that wholesale prices rose by 1.85% compared to the same period last year.

The rate was slightly lower than the 2.04% annual increase recorded in July, indicating a modest easing of inflationary pressures.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.