Asian stocks kept to a tight range on Wednesday as technology shares turned skittish before key earnings from Nvidia Corp , while Chinese markets struggled after Beijing left its benchmark lending rates unchanged.
Regional markets took little strength from a positive overnight session on Wall Street, which was spurred largely by gains in NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) and other technology stocks.
U.S. stock index futures steadied in Asian trade, with focus squarely on earnings from Nvidia due after the U.S. market close on Wednesday. The company is seen as a bellwether for artificial intelligence demand, and is likely to set a course for tech stocks in the coming days.
Chinese stocks drift lower as loan prime rates remain unchanged
China’s Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes fell 0.4% and 0.1%, respectively. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.2%.
The People’s Bank of China left its one-year and five-year LPRs unchanged on Wednesday, with Beijing likely holding back on more stimulus until it had gained a clearer picture of what a Donald Trump presidency will entail for Sino-U.S. relations.
China had cut the LPR slightly more than expected in October, as the country announced a string of major stimulus measures to boost sluggish growth.
But Beijing has held off on announcing more targeted fiscal measures, with analysts stating that the government was watching for the impact of proposed trade tariffs by Trump on the economy.
This trend has seen Chinese markets lag their Asian peers in recent sessions.
Japanese shares dip as trade balance shrinks
Japan’s Nikkei 225 and TOPIX indexes fell 0.4% and 0.2%, respectively, on Wednesday.
Data showed the country logged a bigger than expected trade deficit in October, as local imports unexpectedly rose during the month. The reading indicated that Japanese demand still remained relatively robust.
Among individual Japanese stocks, Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd. (TYO:3382) surged over 8% to a record high after local media reported the retailer’s founding Ito family was preparing to take the firm private by the end of the current fiscal year.
Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. (TYO:9531) rallied nearly 12% after American activist investor Elliott Management took a 5% stake in the firm.
Focus this week is on Japanese consumer inflation data for October, due on Friday.
Nvidia suppliers skittish ahead of Q3 earnings
Shares of Nvidia’s Asian suppliers were a mixed bag on Wednesday, with focus on the chipmaker’s third-quarter earnings. Nvidia is widely expected to clock strong earnings growth on robust AI demand, although focus will be on whether its outlook remains strong.
South Korean memory chip giant SK Hynix Inc (KS:000660) rose 1.2%, while rival Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KS:005930) fell 1.2%.
Taiwan’s TSMC (TW:2330) (NYSE:TSM) was flat in Taipei trade, while Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd (TW:2317), also known as Foxconn, rose 1.2%.
In Japan, chip testing equipment maker Advantest Corp. (TYO:6857) fell 0.8%.
Broader Asian stocks were mostly lower. Risk appetite was also dented by increased concerns over the Russia-Ukraine war, especially after Moscow lowered its threshold for carrying out nuclear retaliation.