Commercial and residential buildings are seen from the roof of Lotte World Tower at sunset, Tuesday, November 28, 2023, in Seoul, South Korea.
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Asia-Pacific markets took a breather after two consecutive days of gains, echoing moves on Wall Street ahead of Thursday’s release of U.S. first-quarter gross domestic product data.
In Asia, investors expect South Korea’s first-quarter GDP to grow at an annual rate of 3.4%, the highest quarterly growth rate since the fourth quarter of 2021.
In addition, the Bank of Japan will hold a monetary policy meeting on Thursday, and investors will focus on actions taken in response to the weakening of the yen. The yen fell below the 155 mark against the dollar on Wednesday, hitting a 34-year low.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index It fell 1.8%, and the Topix fell 1.4%. The yen still steadily broke through the 155 mark against the US dollar and was trading at 155.41.
Korean Cospi The Kosdaq also fell 1.12%, with the small-cap Kosdaq down 0.36%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.45% and the CSI 300 Index fell 0.4%.
Markets in Australia and New Zealand are closed for public holidays.
Overnight, the three major U.S. stock indexes traded largely within a narrow range as interest rate concerns dampened enthusiasm for strong corporate profits.
U.S. Treasury yields rose, weighing on stocks.At intraday high, benchmark 10 Year Treasury Bill Yields exceeded 4.67%, while interest rates 2 year note Breaking through 4.95%
this S&P 500 Index Barely up 0.02%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.11%.this Nasdaq Index It rose slightly by 0.1%.
—CNBC’s Brian Evans and Alex Harring contributed to this report.
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