Investing.com - Asian shares mostly gained on Wednesday after Moody's downgraded China's credit rating, and as investors awaited minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve and an upcoming OPEC meeting.
Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.56% and South Korea's Kospi gained 0.13%. Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index edged up 0.11%.
But markets in greater China opened in the red with the Hang Seng Index down a tad and the Shanghai Composite down 0.66%.
Ahead of the release of Federal Reserve’s minutes of its April meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, investors parsed comments from Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari.
Kashkari said that while the U.S. economy is closer than it was in March to full employment, he is unsure “if we are there yet”, and that the slower pace of core inflation amid a surge in employment is “concerning."
Another potentially market-moving event is the OPEC meeting on Thursday that will be led by Saudi Arabia. Oil prices have been rising on optimism over hopes that will be OPEC-led output cuts will be extended with non-OPEC key producer Russia also in the pact.
Overnight, U.S. stocks closed higher for a fourth-straight day Tuesday, as the recent political turmoil weighing on equities eased in the wake of President Trump’s absence, as he continued his first trip abroad since taking office.
President Trump’s trip abroad continued to offset the recent political turmoil that has engulfed his administration and caused many investors to doubt whether he would be able to deliver on pro-growth policies, culminating in the massive selloff of US stocks last week.
Trump met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of a trip to Europe.
On the economic data front, better than expected services business activity offset manufacturing and housing data that fell short of expectations.
IHS Markit flash U.S. manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) fell to its lowest level in eight months with a reading of 52.5, while its services (PMI) soared to a four-month high with a reading of 54, which was above economists’ forecasts.
A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector; below 50 indicates contraction.
In a separate report on Tuesday, the Commerce Department said sales of newly constructed homes fell in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 569,000. That was below analysts’ estimates of a drop to 610,000.
An ambitious White House budget proposal for next year was also in focus during the session, as investors mulled over the White House’s plan to cut federal spending by $3.6 trillion over the next 10 years.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 20,937.83, up 0.21%. The S&P 500 closed 0.18% higher while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 6138.71, up 0.08%.