The Kospi 180721, -0.02% in Seoul declined 0.2%, and the Nikkei 225 NIK, -0.13% in Tokyo fell 0.3%. Shanghai Composite index SHCOMP, +0.73% surged 0.6% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index HSI, +0.52% increased by 0.3%.
The S&P/ASX 200 index for Australia fell 0.6%. Singapore STI, -0.78%, and Taiwan Y9999, -0.08% had declines in share prices while Indonesia JAKIDX, +0.13%, saw gains.
The retreat came in response to remarks made on Tuesday by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who indicated that despite a particularly strong jobs report released by the United States on Friday, the central bank would not be forced to adopt a more aggressive approach to raising interest rates to control inflation.
The president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, John Williams, a different Fed official, stated on Wednesday that he continues to believe that the Fed’s main interest rate would reach its goal range of 5% to 5.5% by the end of the year. Currently, the federal funds rate is fluctuating between 4.50% and 4.75%.
In a post for ActivTrades, Anderson Alves stated that “traders are closely monitoring policymakers’ words to position appropriately ahead of critical impending inflation statistics and employment market data before next month’s rate decision.”
The Nasdaq COMP, -1.68% sank 1.7% to 11,910.52 and the S&P 500 SPX, -1.11% slid 1.1% to 4,117.86 on Wednesday. To reach 33,949.01, the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.61% lost 0.6% of its value.
Williams cautioned that if bond yields fall too far and stock prices rise, among other softening financial conditions, inflation may rise and interest rates may need to increase.
After reporting unexpectedly positive fiscal first-quarter financial results, the entertainment behemoth Walt Disney DIS, +0.13% rose 5.5% in after-hours trading. However, it lost nearly all of that gain when it revealed it would be eliminating about 7,000 jobs as part of a “significant transformation” announced by CEO Bob Iger. About 3% of the entertainment company’s global staff would be affected by the job layoffs.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, benchmark U.S. crude oil CLH23, +0.03% lost 6 cents to trade for $78.41 per barrel in electronic trading.
The benchmark price for international trade, Brent oil BRNJ23, +0.08%, dropped 6 cents to $85.03 per barrel.