Asian Shares Mostly Lower As Investors Look To Jackson Hole Conference

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks fell for an eighth straight session on Wednesday, with Europe's energy woes and a drought-fueled power crisis in China keeping investors nervous.

Investors also braced for a hawkish message from the Federal Reserve at this week's Jackson Hole symposium.

The dollar traded firm and the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield held above 3 percent after Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari said the Fed needs to be more aggressive to control inflation.

Gold was little changed while oil prices fluctuated after surging by nearly 4 percent overnight on news that OPEC could cut output to correct the recent oil price fall. China's Shanghai Composite index slumped 1.86 percent to 3,215.20 on concerns that the risk from the country's property sector could spill into the wider economy. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1.20 percent to 19,268.74.

Japanese stocks closed at a two-week low as recession worries persisted. The Nikkei average slipped 0.49 percent to 28,313.47 while the broader Topix index ended 0.22 percent lower at 1,967.18.

Tech stocks were hit hard, with Screen Holdings and Tokyo Electron losing 1-2 percent. Video game company Konami lost 2.8 percent and Nintendo fell 2.6 percent.

Energy stocks outperformed, with Inpex Corp adding 1.7 percent. Tokyo Electric jumped 10 percent after reports that the government wants to restart more nuclear reactors to avoid power shortages.

Seoul stocks posted modest gains to snap a five-day losing streak. The Kospi average inched up half a percent to 2,447.45 as the Korean won rose against the dollar for the first time in seven sessions.

The Bank of Korea will hold its monetary policy meeting on Thursday, with economists expecting a 25-bps rate hike.

Australian stocks closed higher, led by gains in the energy and mining sectors. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.52 percent to 6,998.10 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended 0.60 percent higher at 7,242.30.

AUB Group surged 5.5 percent and software solutions provider WiseTech Global soared 12.8 percent after reporting encouraging annual results.

Supermarket group Coles lost 4.6 percent after it flagged higher costs for the 2023 fiscal year.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index edged up 0.10 percent to settle at 11,655.33. Telecommunications firm Spark New Zealand advanced 1.5 percent after announcing its 2022 results.

U.S. stocks closed lower for a third straight session overnight as a slew of disappointing economic readings added to economic woes.

Business activity contracted for as second straight month in August, factory activity in the U.S. central Atlantic region contracted in the month and sales of new single-family homes plunged to a 6-1/2-year low in July, adding to concerns about economic slowdown and tighter monetary policy.

The Dow dipped half a percent, the S&P 500 eased 0.2 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended flat with a negative bias.