Asian shares are mostly lower despite a Big Tech rally on Wall Street, as investors look ahead to data on U.S. consumer prices set for later in the week
TOKYO — Asian shares mostly declined Tuesday despite a Big Tech rally on Wall Street, as investors looked ahead to data on U.S. consumer prices set for later in the week.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 surged 0.7% in morning trading to 32,686.67. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.2% to 7,176.30. South Korea's Kospi shed 0.5% to 2,542.91. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1.0% to 17,913.43, while the Shanghai Composite fell nearly 0.3% to 3,135.08.
“Upcoming U.S. data will be crucial leading up to the Federal Reserve’s decision next week,” Anderson Alves of ActivTrades said in a commentary.
The Federal Reserve is weighing whether to keep raising interest rates steady in its effort to get inflation back to 2%. On Wednesday, the U.S. government will offer the latest monthly update on prices consumers are paying across the economy, and the forecast is they were 3.6% higher in August than a year earlier.
The Fed has already hiked its main interest rate to the highest level in more than two decades, and it has said it will make upcoming moves based on how inflation and other parts of the economy perform. Inflation has come down from last year’s peak above 9%, but economists warn the last bit of improvement to get to the Fed’s target could be the most difficult to achieve.
A separate report on Thursday will also show how much U.S. households spent at retailers last month. Strong spending there has helped the economy avoid a long-predicted recession. But it also could encourage companies to keep trying to raise prices, pushing upward on inflation.
Most traders expect the Federal
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