On Wednesday, Asian stocks saw little to no change as investors’ hopes for an early US Federal Reserve rate cut diminished. Meanwhile, people kept their eye on the initial headlines about Japan’s spring wage negotiations, which may signal a change in Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) policy.The dollar remained stable while gold saw minimal gains in Asian markets. Oil prices saw a jump due to an unexpected decrease in US crude inventories, according to various industries’ data.The Shanghai Composite index in China fell by 0.40 percent to 3,043.83, due mainly to a significant decline in property developers since Country Garden failed to meet a coupon payment. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index had a nearly steady close at 17,082.11, while Country Garden Holdings’ shares plunged by 4.9 percent.In contrast, Japanese markets closed with slight losses as the yen saw more strength. This increase arose due to the country’s most prominent employers announcing unprecedented pay hikes, prompting speculation that BOJ might terminate its negative interest rate policy in their upcoming meeting. BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda noted policy decisions would take into account wage negotiations and other pertinent data and information.The Nikkei average slightly fell to 38,695.97, a 0.26 percent drop. The broader Topix index closed 0.33 percent down at 2,648.51. Companies like Toyota Motor and Nippon Steel saw marginal losses after agreeing to groundbreaking pay raises. Panasonic Holdings shares dipped by 1.8 percent.Seoul stocks gleaned modest increases as the jobless rate in South Korea went down to 2.6 percent, a decrease from 3 percent in the previous month. Consequently, the Kospi average went up by 0.44 percent to 2,693.57, reaching a 23-month peak.Australian stocks ended higher as gains in banking and real estate offset losses in the mining sector. The S&P ASX 200 index grew by 0.22 percent to 7,729.40, and the broader All Ordinaries index raised by 0.21 percent to 7,989.50.In other news, Liontown Resources’ stocks surged by 6.1 percent following its successful acquisition of an AU$550 million debt facility for the expansion of its Kathleen Valley lithium project.Meanwhile, in New Zealand, the S&P/NZX 50 index modestly fell by 0.17 percent, closing at 11,809.02.On the other hand, US stocks saw a rebound as inflation data largely met projections, with a rise of 0.4 percent month-on-month and 3.2 percent year-on-year in February. The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite went up by 1.5 percent after two days of losses. The S&P 500 grew by 1.1 percent and hit a new record close, and the Dow increased by 0.6 percent.The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com
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