Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell is due to speak to the conference on Friday. The Fed has kept its main interest rate steady this year, primarily because of the fear of the possibility that President Donald Trump’s tariffs could push inflation higher. But a surprisingly weak report on job growth across the U.S. may be superseding that.
Still, minutes from the Fed’s July 29-30 meeting released Wednesday showed most Fed officials felt the threat of higher inflation was a greater concern than the potential for job losses, leading the central bank to keep its key rate unchanged. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.6% to 42,610.17 after a survey showed Japan’s factory activity remained in contraction for the second month in August.
The S&P Global flash Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) increased to 49.9 in August from 48.9 in July, just below the 50 level that delineates between growth and decline. Regional manufacturers have been feeling pressure from Trump’s higher tariffs on exports to the United States. In Chinese markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index edged 0.3% lower to 25,079.55, while the Shanghai composite index rose 0.1% to 3,771.10.
South Korea’s Kospi added 0.4% to 3,141.74 after shedding some its morning gains. Australia’s S&P ASX 200 index added 1.1% to 9,019.10. Taiwan’s TAIEX climbed 1.4%, while India’s Sensex added 0.3%. “Asian markets walked into Thursday like a card room still heavy with last night’s smoke – muted, watchful, waiting for the next cue out of Jackson Hole,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 dipped 0.2% to 6,395.78 after trimming a 1.1% loss earlier in the day. It is still near its all-time high set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added less than 0.1% to 44,938.31. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.7% to 21,172.86. The day’s action centered again around stocks caught up in the mania around artificial-intelligence technology.
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