Asia markets fall amid China and Fed uncertainties. Investors were irritated by Beijing’s lack of stimulus measures and wondered how hawkish the world’s most powerful central banker would be later in the session. Asian stocks were weak on Wednesday.
In two days of the hearing, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will be asked if rates would rise again in July and peak at 5.5%-5.75%.
Markets expect a rise to 5.25-5.5% next month, ending the tightening cycle.
“The focus is on whether the July meeting is truly “live” and if the Fed dot plot of two more hikes is a true base case depending on the data, or doom-mongering on inflation in an effort to ensure no premature easing in financial conditions,” said NAB head of market economics Tapas Strickland.
After dipping overnight, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were flat due to uncertainty. EURO STOXX 50 futures rose 0.2% and FTSE 0.1%.
South Korea (.KS11) down 0.5%, while MSCI’s broadest Asia-Pacific index outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) fell 0.8%.
Japan’s Nikkei (.N225) rose 0.1% after three months of strong advances. In June, big Japanese manufacturers’ morale rose for a second month.
Chinese blue chips (.CSI300) fell 0.5% as investors were disappointed with Tuesday’s rate cuts and the yuan’s year-low.
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