Asia Markets Mixed Ahead of Expected Fed Rate Cut; Baidu Soars on Bond Offering and AI Deal
Asia Markets Mixed Ahead of Expected Fed Rate Cut; Baidu Soars on Bond Offering and AI Deal
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Wednesday as investors keenly awaited the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting, with expectations high for an interest rate cut. This anticipation drove cautious trading across the region, even as some sectors saw significant gains.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index remained flat amid choppy trading, while the broader Topix index declined by 0.4%. Government data released today showed Japan’s exports in August experienced a modest 0.1% year-on-year drop, a smaller contraction than the 1.9% decline economists had projected. This follows a 2.6% fall in the previous month, as the world’s fourth-largest economy continues to navigate U.S. tariffs and a slowdown from early-year export front-loading.
Elsewhere, Australia’s ASX/S&P 200 retreated 0.63%, and South Korea’s Kospi index fell 0.75%, with the small-cap Kosdaq also down 0.38%.
In contrast, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 1.35%, and the Hang Seng Tech index jumped 3.43%. Chinese tech giant Baidu was a standout performer, with its Hong Kong-listed shares surging as much as 14%. This spike followed the company’s announcement on Tuesday of the successful completion of a 4.4 billion Chinese yuan ($618 million) offshore bond offering due in 2029. Additionally, Baidu had signed an agreement on Monday with state-owned China Merchants Group to collaborate on AI technologies, further boosting investor confidence. Mainland China’s CSI 300 also added 0.6%.
India’s benchmark Nifty 50 rose 0.33% at the open, and the Sensex index gained 0.14%. Singapore also released economic data today, showing its non-oil domestic exports plunged 11.3% year-on-year in August, significantly missing economists’ expectations for a 1% rise. This decline, primarily driven by reduced demand in specialized machinery, food preparations, and petrochemicals, follows a revised 4.7% drop in July and highlights concerns over global demand affecting the highly open city-state economy.
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