Investing.com - Shares in Tokyo bucked a weak trend in other Asian markets on Wednesday as traders turned caution on Fed views that a rate hike is possible this year.
The Nikkei 225 rose 0.50%, but the S&P/ASX fell 0.08% even as Moody's affirmed the sovereign rating. Also in Australia, the wage price index for the second quarter rose 0.5% quarter-on-quarter as expected and at a 2.1% pace year-on-year, slightly above the 2.1% gain seen.
The Shanghai Composite eased 0.34% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged up 0.21%. The yuan was lower against the dollar even though the People's Bank of China strengthened the fixing for a third consecutive day at 6.6056, compared with a central parity of 6.6305 on Tuesday.
Overnight, U.S. stocks fell out of record territory on Tuesday, as investors eyed the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's July meeting, while a key policymaker hinted that it could be appropriate to raise interest rates in the coming months as the economy demonstrates continued improvement.
New York Fed president William Dudley jolted markets with hawkish comments on the likelihood that that the U.S. central bank could lift interest rates before the end of the year. Speaking exclusively with Fox Business, Dudley said the Fed is "getting closer" to that point when it "will be appropriate" to actually raise short-term rates. Following last December's historic interest rate hike, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) has held the targeted range of its benchmark interest rate at its current level between 0.25 and 0.50% in each of its first five meetings this year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 84.03 or 0.45% to 18,552.02, while the NASDAQ Composite index lost 34.91 or 0.66% to 5,227.11, each moving off record intraday and closing highs from the previous day. The S&P 500 Composite index, meanwhile, fell 12.00 or 0.55% to 2,178.15. On the S&P 500, nine of 10 sectors closed in the red, as stocks in the Telecom and Utilities industries lagged. Stocks in the interest rate sensitive, defensive industries performed poorly in Tuesday's session, each falling by more than 1%. Stocks in the Energy sector led, closing the session as the only industry in the green.
On Monday, all three major indices on Wall Street closed at all-time record highs for the second time in three sessions. When the Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500 all closed at a previous record high last Thursday.