Crowds of people walk through Shibuya intersection in Tokyo, Japan.
@didiermarty | moment | getty images
Australian and Japanese stocks fell on Wednesday as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision to be released in Asia earlier on Thursday.
Investors will also be watching closely JPYThe week started with a volatile start due to suspected intervention on Monday. The currency is currently trading at about 157.7 against the US dollar.
Most Asian markets were closed Wednesday due to the Labor Day holiday.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index It was down 0.74% in early trade, while the Topix fell 0.69%.
The Australian S&P/ASX 200 Index down 0.8%.
Overnight, all three major U.S. stock indexes fell as higher-than-expected wage data stoked fresh inflation concerns ahead of the Federal Reserve’s rate decision.
The U.S. Labor Department said on Tuesday that its employment cost index, a measure of wages and benefits, rose 1.2% in the first quarter, above the 1% consensus estimate among economists surveyed by Dow Jones. After the data was released, U.S. Treasury bond yields rose sharply, with the 2-year Treasury bond yield exceeding 5%.
S&P 500 Index fell 1.57%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1.49%.this Nasdaq Index It fell 2.04% to 15,657.82.
—CNBC’s Brian Evans and Sarah Min contributed to this report.
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