Most Asian markets were mixed Friday as investors digested disappointing US inflation data that further dampened expectations for another bumper interest rate cut next month.
Chinese stocks dipped a day before a highly anticipated news conference at which it is hoped the country’s finance minister will outline fresh fiscal stimulus to add to a raft of measures unveiled last month.
Wall Street’s three main indexes ticked down Thursday after figures showed September US consumer prices rose slightly less than the previous month but a little more than forecast, while the closely watched core reading edged a little higher.
The reading followed last Friday’s blockbuster data on jobs creation that indicated the labour market remained in rude health and led traders to slash their bets on a second successive 50-basis-point rate reduction in November.
While the latest inflation news was not as good as hoped, some Federal Reserve officials remained upbeat.
New York Fed president John Williams said that “month to month, there’s wiggles and bumps in the data, but we’ve seen this pretty steady process of inflation moving” downward.
“I expect that that will continue,” he said, adding he thought the bank could continue to bring borrowing costs down.
His Chicago counterpart Austan Goolsbee told CNBC that the rate of inflation was clearly moving downwards, while Richmond Fed chief Thomas Barkin concurred it was “definitely headed in the right direction”.
However, Raphael Bostic at the Atlanta Fed said that while one print did not tell a whole story, if repeated, it could give him reason to consider pausing on rates.
Traders are now pricing in a 25-basis-point reduction, having been optimistic for a 50-point move before last week’s jobs report.
“Overall, the print doesn’t change the story of (the) moderating inflation narrative and should keep the Fed on getting policy back to a more neutral setting (wherever that may be),” said Tapas Strickland, head of market economics at National Australia Bank.
But he added that if repeated “it may… challenge where inflation could settle and how quickly it may take to get there”.
After a tepid lead from Wall Street, where the Dow and S&P 500 came off record highs, Asia fluctuated.
Tokyo ended the morning on the front foot thanks to a weaker yen as investors scale back expectations for US rate cuts, while Singapore, Seoul, Wellington, Taipei and Jakarta also edged up.
However, Sydney and Manila dropped.
Shanghai lost more than one percent at the end of a volatile week dominated by concerns about a lack of detail on China’s recent batch of economy-boosting measures.
Chinese and Hong Kong markets have whipsawed over the past few days, having rocketed more than 20 percent in reaction to the raft of measures unveiled last month that had a particular emphasis on helping the battered property sector.
Focus is now on a news conference planned for Saturday at which Finance Minister Lan Fo’an is set to hold a briefing on fiscal policy.
Hong Kong was closed for a holiday.
Oil prices edged down, having surged more than three percent Thursday after Israel’s defence minister pledged that his country would strike Iran in retaliation for last week’s missile attack.
Key figures around 0230 GMT
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.6 percent at 39,612.82 (break)
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 1.3 percent at 3,257.65
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: Closed for holiday
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0937 from $1.0935 on Thursday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3060 from $1.3058
Dollar/yen: UP at 148.71 yen from 148.58 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 83.74 pence from 83.73 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.5 percent at $75.48 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.6 percent at $78.93 per barrel
New York – Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 42,454.12 (close)
London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 8,237.73 (close)
