Most markets in Asia lost ground on Wednesday as investors digested the release of private surveys on services activity from the region, with both Japan and China seeing continued service sector growth in June.
As of 8.55 A.M. Bangkok time In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.29%, South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.39%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.17% after the Reserve Bank of Australia held rates unchanged at 4.1% on Tuesday.
The Shanghai Composite in mainland China slipped 0.26% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.55%.
U.S. markets were closed for Independence Day, but futures were all lower ahead of Wednesday’s session. The minutes from the Federal Reserve’s June meeting will be monitored by investors after Chairman Jerome Powell suggested last month that further rate hikes are to be expected.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.11 points, while the S&P 500 fell 0.9% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.17%.
To look further ahead, Friday’s US nonfarm payrolls report will be a major event for markets since it may provide clues about the future of monetary policy.
