Asian shares were roughly flat Wednesday, as investors shifted
focus to positive corporate earnings and the Federal Reserve's
monetary-policy meeting from China's three-day selloff.
The Shanghai Composite is up 1.4% at 3715.93. The smaller
Shenzhen Composite is 2.3% higher at 2160.11, while the small-cap
ChiNext board is 2.6% at 2649.50.
Despite shedding 11% in three days, China's stock market's
losses slowed Tuesday, falling 1.7%. That helped ease concerns
elsewhere in Asia and abroad.
The Nikkei Stock Average was off 0.3%, South Korea's Kospi was
up 0.3% and Australia's S&P ASX 200 was up 0.8%.
Gains overnight in the U.S. and Europe helped retrace deep
losses from Monday.
Upbeat earnings from companies like Ford Motor Co., which
reported a 44% jump in net income for the second quarter, helped
lift sentiment. Investors also will be parsing clues from the Fed
about the timing of an interest-rate increase.
Still, many remain cautious. Though most global markets have
been insulated from the erratic swings in Chinese stocks in recent
weeks, the moves nevertheless have stoked fears about whether a
rout in the world's second-largest economy will weigh on global
growth.
"Buying appetite remains weak with Chinese market volatility and
worries of China's economic growth playing so much havoc with
investor sentiment," said Hiroichi Nishi, general manager of
equities at SMBC Nikki Securities. "How all of this may affect the
timing of a U.S. interest rate increase is of keen interest."
Authorities have come out to soothe investor concerns amid the
second bout of selling this month. On Tuesday afternoon, China
securities watchdog said that it would investigate whether a
coordinated dumping of shares sparked Monday's selloff. Late
Monday, the regulator said it would increase its support to the
market.
Commodities, battered by a stronger U.S. dollar and worries
about China's slowdown, continued to slide. China is one of the
world's largest consumers of oil, metals and food. A stronger
dollar is also bad news for commodities, many of which are priced
in the currency, because it becomes more expensive for foreign
buyers.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell Tuesday to its
lowest price since January amid concerns about glut. Crude oil
futures were down 16 cents at $47.82 a barrel. Both Brent and the
U.S. oil benchmark recently entered bear markets—defined as a 20%
drop from a recent high.
Expectations the U.S. will raise interest rates soon has
tarnished gold, which has hit multiyear lows in the past week, as
investors consider moving to higher-yielding assets. Spot gold is
down $1.50 to $1,094.90 an ounce in Asia trade.
Write to Chao Deng at Chao.Deng@wsj.com
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