People crossing the street in Shibuya, Tokyo.
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Asia-Pacific markets fell Wednesday, tracking Wall Street declines after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that “equity prices are fairly highly valued.”
Powell also signaled that the rate-cutting path wasn’t clear and that the central bank faces a “challenging situation.”
Australia’s ASX/S&P 200 lost 0.61%. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.33%, while the Topix lost 0.35%.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand announced Tuesday that Anna Breman would be the new governor of the central bank, marking the first time a woman has held the role. She will commence her five-year term on December 1.
Christian Hawkesby served as the RBNZ’s acting governor since March, after the unexpected departure of Adrian Orr. His interim six-month appointment is set to conclude in October.
South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.11%, while the small-cap Kosdaq traded 0.39% lower. However, South Korean defense stocks defied the weakness, with major players such as Hanwha Aerospace, Korea Aerospace, and Hyundai Rotem posting gains of between 2% and 4%.
Their rally comes as President Donald Trump voiced support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, and said that the U.S. will continue to supply weapons to NATO for the military alliance “to do what they want with them.” South Korea has emerged as a major supplier of military equipment and munitions to NATO members.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and mainland China’s CSI 300 were flat. Super Typhoon Ragasa is bringing hurricane-force winds to high grounds and southern areas in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Observatory noted. Conditions remain severe as heavy squally showers and thunderstorms are expected.
Shares of Alibaba listed in Hong Kong jumped over 6% after CEO Eddie Wu said Wednesday that the company will boost its investment in artificial intelligence.
Alibaba is moving forward with the 380 billion yuan ($53 billion) investment in AI infrastructure and intend to increase it further, Wu said in the company’s annual Apsara Conference in Hangzhou. The company also unveiled its largest AI language model Qwen3-Max.
Australia’s CPI for August rose 3% year on year, above the 2.9% estimates by economists in a Reuters poll.
Overnight stateside, the three major averages ended the trading day lower. The S&P 500 took a pause from its recent gains as doubts about the sustainability of the artificial intelligence bull trend worried investors.
The broad market index closed down 0.55% at 6,656.92 after reaching a new all-time intraday high earlier in the session and posting a record close on Monday. The Nasdaq Composite fell nearly 1% to settle at 22,573.47, with the losses led by AI names like Nvidia, Oracle and Amazon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 88.76 points, or 0.19%, lower at 46,292.78.
— CNBC’s Sean Conlon, Pia Singh and Lim Hui Jie contributed to this report.
