Asian markets decline ahead of what traders hope will be final Fed rate hike

A woman waits at an intersection near monitors showing Japan’s Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo, Wednesday, July 26, 2023.  (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

BEIJING  — Asian stock markets retreated Wednesday after Wall Street hit a 15-month high ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting that traders hope will end with the final increase in this interest rate cycle.

Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul declined. Oil prices retreated.

Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index rose 0.3 percent on Tuesday after companies reported bigger profits than expected.

Investors expect the Fed to raise its key lending rate on Wednesday by 0.25 percentage points to a 22-year high. They hope the U.S. central bank can manage a “soft landing,” extinguishing inflation while avoiding a recession.

“This could be the last rate hike for the Fed” as inflation pressures ease, said Brad Bernstein of UBS Wealth Management in a report. Bernstein said central banks in Europe and Japan also are “near their pivot points” on their own rate hike cycles.

Meanwhile, traders waited to see how China’s ruling Communist Party will carry out its promise to shore up sluggish economic growth. The ruling party pledged Monday to support entrepreneurs and the struggling real estate industry but gave no details.

“Strong stimulus hopes” provide “room for disappointment if the stimulus details were to lack conviction,” Yeap Jun Rong of IG said in a report.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong sank 0.6 percent to 19,311.50, giving up part of Tuesday’s 4.1 percent surge following the Chinese announcement. The Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.2 percent to 3,225.75. It rose 2.1 percent the previous session.

The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo shed less than 0.1 percent to 32,669.00 and the Kospi in Seoul lost 0.3 percent to 2,627.26.

Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 surged 1 percent after the government reported Australian inflation eased to 5.4 percent in June from the previous month’s 5.5 percent, reducing pressure on the central bank for another interest rate hike to cool upward pressure on prices.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose to 4,567.46 for its highest close since early April 2022.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.1 percent to 35,438.07. The Nasdaq composite climbed 0.6 percent to 14,144.56.

General Electric rallied 6.3 percent rally after it reported better-than-expected quarterly profit and raised its forecasts for full-year revenue and profit.

Another industrial giant, 3M, rose 5.3 percent after the maker of Scotch-Brite and Post-It raised its forecast for profits for the full year due to cost cutting. Home builder PulteGroup climbed 6.2 percent after reporting stronger profit for the spring than expected.

Alaska Air Group fell 9.7 percent despite reporting stronger profit and revenue. Analysts said investors may have been disappointed with its financial forecasts for the current quarter.

About 30 percent of the companies in the S&P 500 are due to report earnings this week.

The U.S. job market has remained unexpectedly strong, which has allowed U.S. households to keep spending and propping up the economy. A report on Tuesday showed confidence among U.S. consumers rose by more than economists expected.

In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude lost 41 cents to $79.22 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 89 cents the previous session to $79.63. Brent crude, the price basis for international oil trading, sank 43 cents to $82.82 per barrel in London. It gained 90 cents the previous session to $83.64.

The dollar held steady at 141.04 yen. The euro gained to $1.1049 from $1.1045