Commercial and residential buildings seen from the rooftop of the Lotte Corp. World Tower at sunset in Seoul, South Korea, on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023.
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Asia-Pacific markets took a breather after two straight days of rallies, mirroring moves on Wall Street ahead of first-quarter gross domestic product figures from the U.S. due Thursday.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 2.16% to lead losses in the region before paring losses, closing at 37,628.48 while the Topix was down 1.74% and closing at 2,663.53. The yen was still trading firmly beyond the 155 mark against the greenback, at 155.63.
The Bank of Japan kicked off its monetary policy meeting Thursday as investors continue to monitor for action against yen weakness. The yen slid past the 155 mark against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, hitting a fresh 34-year low.
Investors will also assess South Korea’s advance first-quarter GDP growth of 3.4% year on year, the highest quarterly growth since the fourth quarter of 2021.
South Korea’s Kospi also slipped 1.76% and ended at 2,628.62, while the small cap Kosdaq fell 1.04% to 853.26.
Chinese indexes bucked the downtrend, however, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index up 0.39%, while China’s CSI 300 advanced 0.25% to finish at 3,530.28.
Markets in Australia and New Zealand are closed for a public holiday.
Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes were largely range bound as interest rate fears dampened the enthusiasm stemming from a strong slate of corporate earnings.
Treasury yields rose, pressuring stocks. At session highs, the benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield topped 4.67%, while the rate on the 2-year note surpassed 4.95%.
The S&P 500 eked out a 0.02% gain, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.11%. The Nasdaq Composite edged 0.1% higher.
— CNBC’s Brian Evans and Alex Harring contributed to this report.