TOKYO: Asian stocks stalled on Wednesday following declines on Wall Street, while the dollar held on to modest gains after a rise in US inflation.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was little changed by midday after a small bounce the previous day.
South Korean and Australian shares were effectively flat. The volatile Shanghai Composite Index lost 1 per cent.
Japan’s Nikkei, which has been hitting a succession of 15-year highs, fell 0.6 per cent, to 19,608 points, though analysts said it may be a matter of time before the index reached the 20,000 threshold for the first time since 2000.
“These themes (better earnings and shareholder returns) as well as increasing wages will likely continue attracting foreign investors in the longer term,” said Jun Yunoki, a strategist at Nomura Securities in Tokyo.
The Dow and S&P both shed 0.6 per cent overnight as US equities maintained a loose inverse correlation with the dollar.
The strength of the greenback, which earlier in the month soared to multi-year highs against its peers, has become a concern due to its potential negative impact on US corporate earnings.
European stocks, on the other hand, hit near record highs the previous day on stronger-than-expected euro zone manufacturing data. The European Central Bank’s extensive quantitative easing policy has been a boon to European shares.
