HONG KONG (AP) โ Asian stocks were mixed on Wednesday as markets awaited an interest rate decision from the Federal Reserve, while China reported the manufacturing sector contracted in January for the fourth straight month.
US oil prices and futures fell.
Japan's Nikkei 225 added 0.6% to 36,286.71.
South Korea's Kospi lost 0.1% to 2,497.09 after Samsung Electronics reported a 34% annual decline in its operating profit for the latest quarter.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng sank 1.6% to 15,460.78, while the Shanghai Composite lost 1.5% to 2,788.55.
Official data showed China's manufacturing purchasing managers' index, or PMI, rose to 49.2 in January, up from 49.0 in December, but still below the critical mark of 50 that indicates expansion in place of contraction. Weak demand in the world's second-largest economy is hampering growth.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.1% to 7,680.70 after a survey showed Australia's inflation rate fell to a two-year low in the December quarter, with the consumer price index at 4.1%, prompting bets that the Reserve Bank could consider an interest rate. cut on the next move.
India's Sensex rose 0.9% while the Bangkok SET fell 0.5%.
On Wall Street, US stocks had a quiet Tuesday and held near their record levels following a mixed set of earnings reports.
The S&P 500 fell 0.1% from its record to 4,924.97. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3% to 38,467.31 and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.8% to 15,509.90.
UPS fell 8.2% even though it reported higher earnings for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Its revenue missed Wall Street estimates and it also gave a full-year revenue forecast in 2024 that was weaker than expected.
Whirlpool sank 6.6% even though it also reported a better-than-expected profit. Its 2024 revenue forecast of $16.9 billion was about $1 billion below analyst estimates.
General Motors helped offset those losses. The automaker jumped 7.8% after reporting stronger-than-expected earnings and revenue.
Treasury yields were also mixed in the bond market after reports showed the economy remains stronger than expected. One said confidence among consumers is rising, while another suggested the labor market could be warmer than expected.
U.S. employers announced 9 million job openings at the end of December, slightly more than economists expected and slightly above the November level. Traders had hoped the data would show a cooling in the number of openings.
A reduction would have better fit the trend that has driven Wall Street to a record: a slowdown in the economy's growth sharp enough to control inflation, but not so strong as to create a recession.
Hopes that that trend will continue are what has Wall Street frothing over the possibility of several interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year. The cuts would mark a sharp turnaround from the Federal Reserve's dramatic rate hikes over the past two years, and the reductions would give a boost to the economy and investment prices.
The Federal Reserve began its latest policy meeting on interest rates on Tuesday, but virtually no one expects it to cut rates this time. That won't stop economists and traders from analyzing every word that comes out of the Fed on Wednesday after its meeting ends. They will be looking for clues that a rate cut could come at their next meeting in March.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which is the centerpiece of the bond market, fell to 4.03% from 4.06% late Tuesday.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude lost 33 cents to $77.49 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 36 cents to $82.14 a barrel.
In currency trading, the US dollar rose to 147.81 Japanese yen from 147.59 yen. The euro cost $1.0818, down from $1.0845.
