Asia report: Stocks fall on quiet day for region

Markets in the Asia-Pacific region were in the red on a largely quiet Wednesday, ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s rate decision due later in the global day.

Most markets in the region were closed for the Labour Day holiday.

“Asian markets are trending downward this morning - a reaction to the previous day's downturn in both European and US markets,” said TickMill market analyst Patrick Munnelly.

“These shifts appear to be driven by a larger-than-anticipated increase in a key indicator of US labour costs during the first quarter, fuelling concerns that today's US monetary policy update may adopt a more hawkish stance.”

Markets in the red on quiet day for region

In Japan, both the Nikkei 225 and the Topix indices experienced declines, with the former dropping by 0.34% to 38,274.05 and the latter slipping by 0.5% to 2,729.40.

Leading the decreases on Tokyo’s benchmark was JGC, which fell by 11.34%, followed by Mitsui OSK Lines, off 5.23%, and Nippon Electric Glass, which lost 4.68%.

Australian markets saw a downward trend, with the S&P/ASX 200 index falling 1.23% to 7,569.90.

Among the biggest decliners were Coronado Global Resources, which dropped by 8.43%, Emerald Resources by 7.91%, and Ramelius Resources by 6.7%.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index recorded a decrease of 0.75% to 11,867.58.

Serko saw a decline of 7.8%, followed by KMD Brands at 5.56%, and Oceania Healthcare at 3.33%.

Markets in China, Hong Kong, and South Korea remained closed for the Labor Day holiday, resulting in subdued trading activity in the regions.

In currency markets, the dollar was last up 0.08% on the yen to trade at JPY 157.92.

The greenback meanwhile decreased 0.08% against the Aussie, to AUD 1.5436, while it saw a marginal decline of 0.01% on the Kiwi to change hands at NZD 1.6983.

On the commodities front, Brent crude futures were last down 1.66% on ICE at $84.90 per barrel, and the NYMEX quote for West Texas Intermediate fell 1.77% to $80.48.

Korea’s trade balance narrows in April

In economic news, preliminary estimates from South Korea's customs service showed a 13.8% jump in April exports.

That stood in contrast to the modest 3.1% rise seen in March, and surpassed the 13.7% growth forecasted by economists in a Reuters poll.

In tandem with that export performance, imports to South Korea saw an uptick, albeit at a slower pace.

The data indicated a 5.4% increase in imports for April, falling short of the 6.2% growth anticipated by analysts.

That marked a reversal from the 12.3% decline seen in March.

As a result, South Korea's trade balance for April narrowed, with the surplus decreasing to $1.53bn, down from the $4.29bn surplus recorded in the prior month.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.