Asia markets mixed, Australia gains on soft CPI; investors brace for central bank decisions

Asian shares had mixed results on Wednesday, with Australia gaining on a soft quarterly inflation print, with investors cautious before the Federal Reserve’s policy announcement. US-China trade talks ended without a deal. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that any deal will require Trump’s personal approval before moving forward. Market participants also remained wary of the approaching U.S. tariff deadline on August 1. Gold hovered around $3,320 per ounce on Wednesday, staying near a three-week low. The Monetary Authority of Singapore kept its policy stance unchanged on Wednesday, maintaining the rate of appreciation of the Singapore dollar nominal effective exchange rate (S$NEER) band after easing in its last two meetings. Japan ( NKY:IND ) fell 0.11% were little changed on Wednesday, with both the Nikkei 225 and Topix indexes trading flat. The Japanese yen appreciated toward 148 per dollar on Wednesday, recouping some losses from earlier in the week. On the domestic front, market participants looked ahead to the Bank of Japan’s policy decision. China ( SHCOMP ) rose 0.37% to above 3,620 while the Shenzhen Component fell 0.3% to 11,250 on Wednesday, with mainland stocks showing mixed performances as the US-China talks in Stockholm ended Tuesday without an extension of the current truce, and the offshore yuan steadied around 7.17 per dollar on Wednesday. During the talks, both sides agreed to pursue an extension of the 90-day tariff truce, set to expire on August 12, in an effort to ease tensions in the ongoing trade war between the world’s two largest economies. White House National Economic Adviser Kevin Hassett said the Trump administration allowed Nvidia’s H20 AI chip shipments to China in a strategic move to maintain the U.S. lead in advanced chip development. In China, investors are turning their attention to upcoming PMI data, due tomorrow, for insights into the country’s economic outlook amid mounting domestic challenges and global trade uncertainty. Hong Kong ( HSI ) fell 0.78% to 25,469 on Wednesday morning, after U.S.-China trade talks ended without a meaningful breakthrough. India ( SENSEX ) fell 0.02% hovering around 81,361 after gains in the prior session, amid lingering uncertainty over US-India trade talks ahead of a looming tariff deadline. Traders continued to monitor developments after President Trump said that India could face tariffs of 20–25%, slightly below the 26% rate announced in April. On a positive note, the IMF upgraded India’s GDP forecast to 6.4% for both FY2026 and FY2027. Australia ( AS51 ) rose 0.63% to around 8,700 on Wednesday, halting its two-session winning streak. The Australian dollar edged higher to above $0.651 on Wednesday, ending its four-session losing streak, as a weaker US dollar outweighed soft domestic inflation figures. Australia’s consumer prices rose at the slowest pace in over four years in Q2, with headline CPI at 0.7% Q/Q and 2.1% Y/Y, and core inflation easing to a three-year low of 2.7% Y/Y —both below forecasts and within the RBA’s 2–3% target range. In the U.S., on Tuesday, all three major indexes ended in red as mixed corporate earnings and caution ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy decision weighed on sentiment. U.S. stock futures were flat on Wednesday as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s latest policy announcement: Dow +0.15% ; S&P 500 +0.19% ; Nasdaq +0.24% . Attention also turned to a fresh wave of corporate earnings, with results due from Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Ford, Etsy, Robinhood, and others. Currencies: ( JPY:USD ), ( CNY:USD ), ( AUD:USD ), ( INR:USD ), ( HKD:USD ), ( NZD:USD ). More on Asia: Australia CPI slowest in four years in Q2, headline CPI at 0.7% Q/Q and 2.1% Y/Y Trump says U.S. strikes ‘massive’ trade deal with Japan, imposes 15% tariffs Japan vows more rice imports from U.S. as part of trade deal Japanese PM Shigeru Ishiba to step down Japan’s core inflation eases to 3.3% in June, slowest pace since March

Source: Seeking Alpha