Investing.com — Most Asian stocks fell on Wednesday, tracking losses on Wall Street as the post-election bull market appears to be subsiding, while expectations for key U.S. inflation data are also at risk. It spurred evasion.
The internal market remains under pressure after China's new fiscal measures have largely disappointed, while uncertainty about what Donald Trump's presidency will mean for Sino-US relations and global trade remains uncertain. Certainty also weighed on us.
U.S. stock index futures fell in Asian trading after negative trading on Wall Street, as stock benchmarks fell from record highs after strong gains last week. Wall Street was in a sharp rebound following Trump's victory in the 2024 presidential election.
Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari's warning that the Fed could keep interest rates on hold in December if inflation rises, as well as hawkish comments from some Fed officials, also weighed on sentiment. .
The focus now was squarely on data to be released later Wednesday that is expected to show U.S. inflation holding steady in October.
Chinese stocks struggle as economic stimulus measures have no effect
On Wednesday, China's indices and indices maintained a narrow range, while Hong Kong's index fell 0.6%.
All three indexes had been slightly lower in recent trading after China's plans for 10 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) in additional debt were largely thwarted.
Investors were now awaiting further fiscal policy aimed at improving consumer spending and supporting the real estate market. Bloomberg reported that the country was considering cutting home purchase taxes to support the real estate sector, but this did little to boost domestic stocks.
Analysts said Beijing is likely looking for more clues about Trump's China policy, given that he has vowed to raise tariffs on Chinese imports.
China is now expected to outline further fiscal stimulus at two high-level political meetings in December.
Asian stocks fall amid CPI concerns
Asian markets were broadly lower on Wednesday as expectations for US consumer price index (CPI) numbers prompted risk aversion. The market was also focused on address decisions by the second half of this week.
Japan's index fell 1%, with a decline of 1.1%. Technology investment giant SoftBank Group (TYO:) fell 0.6% despite posting a much better-than-expected profit in the September quarter.
South Korea was hit by heavy losses in semiconductor manufacturing stocks. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (KS:) Prices have fallen to four-year lows due to concerns about US trade tariffs under the Trump administration. Samsung also lags far behind rivals in capitalizing on increased demand for memory chips from the artificial intelligence boom.
Australian shares fell 1% on losses in banking and mining stocks, while Indian index futures showed a weaker move after the index fell 1% in the previous session.
Nifty posted a much stronger reading than expected in October, nearing a five-month low.
