Bird’s-eye view of central Tokyo including Tokyo Tower at sunrise hours.
Vladimir Zakharov | Moment | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were set to mostly open lower after the Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark rate as expected on Wednesday, with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell framing the move as a “risk management cut,” rather than something more directed at shoring up a weak economy.
The Fed also indicated two more rate cuts could be made by the year’s end, another in 2026, one more in 2027, and no cuts in 2028.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index was set to open higher, with its futures contract in Chicago last traded at 44,880, and its counterpart in Osaka at 44,790, against the index’s last close of 44,790.38.
Australia’s ASX/S&P 200 was poised to start the trading session lower, with its futures contract trading at 8,794, against the index’s last close of 8,818.50.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was also set to open lower, with its futures contract last traded at 26,829, against the index’s previous close of 26,908.39.
The Bank of Japan is kick-starting its two-day policy meeting, where it is expected by most economists to keep policy rates steady.
HSBC expects policy rates to remain unchanged in the upcoming meeting, but sees a 25 basis point hike this year at the October meeting, which will raise the policy rate to 0.75%.
“Bank of Japan officials are looking for signs of economic resilience, and we believe that the second quarter GDP print, which outperformed market expectations, certainly delivered,” HSBC’s economists wrote. “With its U.S. trade deal finalized, Japan’s exporters received some relief from potentially even higher tariffs, but they could still be impacted by a future slowdown in global trade.”
U.S. stock futures rose slightly on Wednesday stateside as investors continued to digest the latest rate cut decision from the Federal Reserve.
Overnight in the U.S., the major averages closed mixed after a volatile day of trading. While the rate reduction was no surprise, markets weren’t sure what to make of it all.
An initial rally on the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost a little steam, but the blue-chip index still closed up 260.42 points, or 0.6%, at 46,018.32, after earlier hitting an all-time high. However, the S&P 500 settled down 0.1% at 6,600.35, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.3% to 22,261.33.
— CNBC’s Jeff Cox, Pia Singh and Alex Harring contributed to this report.
