Asian Markets Slide As Tech Stocks Drop On Valuation Concerns

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Wednesday after Wall Street's main indexes pulled back from record highs overnight on the back of mixed messages from Federal Reserve officials on the pace on interest-rate cuts and concerns about a bubble forming around artificial intelligence.

Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran said tariffs are not driving inflation and the Fed can keep easing policy. Separately, Fed Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari warned that drastic rate cuts would risk stoking prices.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has warned of no guaranteed back pay for federal workers as the government shutdown headed into its eighth day.

South Korean markets were closed for Chuseok and those in mainland China remained closed for Mid-Autumn Festival.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.48 percent to 26,829.46 as tech stocks followed their U.S. peers lower on concerns about stretched valuations.

Japanese markets ended lower even as dovish policy expectations continued to weigh on the yen.

The yen extended its losses to a fifth day, reaching its lowest level against the dollar since February as the release of soft wage data dampened market expectations for further interest rate hikes from the Bank of Japan (BoJ).

The Nikkei average dropped 0.45 percent to 47,734.99, snapping a four-day winning run. The broader Topix index notched a record high, rising 0.24 percent to 3,235.66 on renewed hopes for government stimulus.

Australian markets ended slightly lower as losses in retail, technology and gold stocks outweighed gains in the healthcare sector.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.10 percent to 8,947.60, marking its third consecutive session of losses. The broader All Ordinaries index ended marginally lower at 9,244.80.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index rose 0.27 percent to a record high of 13,568.48 after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand slashed its benchmark rate by an aggressive 50 basis points and signaled room for further easing. The dollar continued to gather strength against its rivals amid ongoing political turmoil in France and expectations of increased fiscal spending in Japan.

Gold jumped more than 1 percent to reach a new record high at $4,039 an ounce while oil prices rose nearly 1 percent after a mixed U.S. inventories report.

Overnight, U.S. stocks closed lower after the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's latest consumer survey showed deteriorating future expectations and rising inflation projections.

Fed officials sent mixed signals on the pace of rate cuts, with Kashkari and Miran backing two rate cuts this year, while Schmid and Goolsbee argued against more rate cuts given sticky inflation and tariff-driven price pressures.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.7 percent, the S&P 500 dipped 0.4 percent and the Dow eased 0.2 percent.