The S&P 500 slipped 0.7 per cent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 1.4 per cent, and the US dollar fell slightly, setting a negative tone for Asian markets, FastFT reports.
But if company profits are the concern, investors have one reason to feel relief. After the closing bell Alcoa kicked off the US earnings season with a win. The aluminium producer reported that underlying earnings per share more than doubled at 18 cents, compared to an average forecast of 12 cents.
As investors prepare to digest inflation data from China, here is how futures markets are trading:
Japan’s Nikkei 225 set to fall 0.5 per cent
Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 set to decrease 0.4 per cent
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng to drop 0.4 per cent
In currencies, the Japanese yen gained 0.3 per cent overnight and another 0.1 per cent in early trading, placing it at 101.5 per dollar. That’s just a one-week high but it’s among the strongest valuations of 2014.
For Asia’s economic calendar, China inflation dominates (Hong Kong times):
9:30am: China’s producer price index is expected to show annual deflation of 1.0 per cent in June, slowing from a 1.4 per cent fall in May
9:30am: China’s consumer price index is expected to show a 2.4 per cent gain in inflation in June, moderating from a 2.5 per cent rise in May.
2pm: Japanese machine tool orders in June
