Asian equities subdued as China restrains Fed's moves

The majority of Asian equities closed Wednesday inside a narrow range as mounting concerns of an early Federal Reserve turnabout were countered by prudence ahead of important economic data from China.

Wall Street provided some encouraging signals for regional equities when many Fed members voiced scepticism over rising interest rates. Renowned hawk Christopher Waller said that the bank will probably maintain rates steady for the rest of the year and start lowering them in 2024 when inflation starts to decline.

Ahead of important purchasing managers index (PMI) data that is expected on Thursday, advances in Asian markets were restrained owing to concern over China. The largest economic engine in China, manufacturing activity, is predicted to continue to fall in the coming.

Prior to the reading, investors' attitude towards Chinese equities was still mainly negative, as seen by the 0.5% and 0.2% declines in the Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen CSI 300 indices, respectively.

While Japan’s Nikkei 225 index gained 0.2%, South Korea’s KOSPI remained unchanged. On Thursday, figures for retail sales and industrial output are also expected from the two nations.

The Adani Group's shares are expected to continue their upward trend after the Supreme Court postponed ruling on petitions against the conglomerate due to accusations made by short-seller Hindenburg Research earlier in the year. Futures for India's Nifty 50 index also indicated a bullish start.

One of the better-performing stocks of the day was Australia's ASX 200, which increased by 0.4% after statistics revealed that October's consumer price index inflation declined more than anticipated.

The data increased expectations that the Reserve Bank of Australia would refrain from raising interest rates further while also indicating that high-interest rates were having the desired impact of reducing inflation.

(Sources: investing.com, reuters.com)