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Tokyo: Asian shares were mixed in cautious trading early Wednesday, September 9, as investors watched for what might happen on interest rates and the war with Iran pushed oil prices higher.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was nearly unchanged at 65,249.95, and South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.2 per cent to 7,041.10.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng dipped 0.1 per cent to 25,287.99. The Shanghai Composite gained 0.2 per cent to 3,949.89.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.2 per cent to 8,903.20.
Taiwan’s Taiex edged 0.2 per cent higher and the Sensex in Mumbai shed 0.7 per cent.
On Tuesday, US stocks fell as markets reopened after a three-day weekend, with the S&P 500 sinking 0.6 per cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.2 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite dipped 0.3 per cent.
Markets are feeling the pressure from rising oil prices. Brent crude, the international standard, surged 1.4 per cent to USD 99.30. It briefly climbed as high as USD 99.46 overnight.
Benchmark US crude rose 1.2 per cent to USD 94.17 a barrel.
Increased fighting in the Middle East is constricting the global flow of oil and more costly oil has worsened worries over high inflation.
A closely watched report on US inflation comes on Friday. That update will show how much more people were paying in August for groceries, clothes and other costs of living than a year earlier.
Economists expect it eased a bit to 3.3 per cent from July’s 3.4 per cent inflation rate. That remains well above the 2 per cent target that the Federal Reserve has set as its goal.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.79 per cent from 4.78 per cent. It is near its highest level since the autumn of 2023.
The Fed meets next week to decide whether to cut, raise or hold interest rates steady. The traditional move for the Fed when inflation is high is to raise its main interest rate. But President Donald Trump has been lobbying for lower interest rates.
Japan’s central bank also will meet next week to decide on its benchmark rate. Market watchers are expecting an increase, with the question shifting to by how much and if there will be more rate hikes this year.
The US Treasury secretary has made public remarks widely seen as critical of Japanese government policies that tend to favour a weak yen.
“Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent delivered an unusually forceful message to yen bears, declaring that traders could bet against’ him following the joint US-Japan yen intervention on 31 July,” Ng Jing Wen, an analyst at Mizuho Bank, said in a commentary.
In currency trading early Wednesday, the US dollar fell to 153.36 Japanese yen from 153.99. The euro cost USD 1.1632, inching up from USD 1.1624.
This post was last modified on September 9, 2026 3:34 pm