By Gina Lee
Investing.com – Asia Pacific stocks were mostly down on Wednesday morning, with a rally in Japanese shares slowing down.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.69% by 10:33 PM ET (2:33 AM GMT), with the country’s GDP growing a better-than-expected 1.9% year-on-year and 0.5% quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter of 2021.
South Korea’s KOSPI was down 0.51%.
In Australia, theASX 200 was down 0.24% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index inched down 0.06%.
China’s Shanghai Composite inched down 0.06% while the Shenzhen Component inched up 0.01%. Data, including the producer and consumer price indexes, will be released on Thursday.
Investors also continued their exit from China Evergrande Group after a further cut in the company’s bond and stock ratings. Chinese technology shares listed in the U.S climbed as the view that China’s recent regulatory tightening has somewhat passed prevailed.
The possibility of a slowdown in the economic recovery from COVID-19 and central banks, such as the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank (ECB), beginning asset tapering at some point, is leading to investor wariness in some corners. However, some investors remained cautiously optimistic.
“Localized setbacks in combating COVID-19 have the potential to contribute to market volatility and slow the economic rebound in selected countries. But we continue to see broad progress in curbing the pandemic and returning to economic normality,” UBS Group AG (SIX:UBSG) chief investment officer for global wealth management Mark Haefele said in a note.
ECB will hand down its policy decision on Thursday. Across the Atlantic, U.S. President Joe Biden is due to decide whether to re-nominate Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to a second term within the week, while Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan is due to speak later in the day.
In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin fell over El Salvador’s bumpy implementation of a law making it legal tender.