Asia-Pacific stocks mixed; Reserve Bank of New Zealand rate decision ahead
- Japan's government on Tuesday decided to extend the Covid-19 state of emergency in Tokyo and other areas to Sept. 12, local news agency Kyodo News reported.
- The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is set to announce its interest rate decision at 10:00 a.m. HK/SIN on Wednesday. It could become the first economy in Asia-Pacific to raise interest rates.
SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Wednesday morning trade as investors look ahead to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's interest rate decision.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 sat below the flatline in early trade while the Topix index hovered mildly higher.
Japan's government on Tuesday decided to extend the Covid-19 state of emergency in Tokyo and other areas to Sept. 12, local news agency Kyodo News reported.
South Korea's Kospi advanced 0.14%. Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.44%.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.16% lower.
RBNZ rate decision ahead
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is set to announce its interest rate decision at 10:00 a.m. HK/SIN on Wednesday.
The New Zealand central bank could become the first economy in Asia-Pacific to raise interest rates. Still, uncertainty surrounds the announcement after the discovery of one Covid case in Auckland prompted New Zealand's prime minister to announce a nationwide lockdown.
Ahead of that decision, the New Zealand dollar traded at $0.6923, following a drop from above $0.696 yesterday.
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Overnight stateside, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 282.12 points to 35,343.28 while the S&P 500 slipped 0.71% to 4,448.08. The Nasdaq Composite shed 0.93% to 14,656.18.
Currencies and oil
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 93.142 following a recent jump from below 92.8.
The Japanese yen traded at 109.56 per dollar, weaker than levels below 109.5 seen against the greenback yesterday. The Australian dollar was at $0.7252 as it struggles to recover after falling from above $0.732 earlier in the week.
Oil prices were mildly higher in the morning of Asia trading hours, with Brent crude futures hovering above the the flatline, trading at $69.05 per barrel. U.S. crude futures rose fractionally to $66.62 per barrel.
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