Shares in the Asia-Pacific opened lower Wednesday, following Wall Street’s negative lead ahead of the Federal Reserve’s expected rate hike.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan dropped 1.31%, while the Topix index fell 1.23%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 slipped 1.4%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.25%, and the Hang Seng Tech index dropped 2.1%. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite lost 0.56% and the Shenzhen Component was 0.9% lower.
South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.9%. MCSI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan shed around 1%.
A sourer tone took hold over the past 24 hours, with equities lower and haven currencies, including the dollar, stronger,” Taylor Nugent, economist at National Australia Bank, wrote in a Wednesday note.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 313.45 points, or 1.01%, to 30,706.23. The S&P 500 slid 1.13% to 3,855.93 and the Nasdaq Composite slumped 0.95% to 11,425.05. The dollar index strengthened above the 110 level.