Stocks in Asia were mixed, with the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo closing at a new record high on Wednesday as investors awaited further testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell in Congress.
Japan’s benchmark rose 0.6% to close at 41,831.99, after also closing at a record high on Tuesday and hitting a record high of 41,889.16 on Wednesday.
The Nikkei 225 has risen nearly 30% over the past year and 5% over the past three months.
Investors have been buying up tech-related stocks as excitement grows over the potential of artificial intelligence. Export-oriented companies have also seen strong gains as profits have soared on the weakness of the Japanese yen against the U.S. dollar.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell 0.2% to 17,484.85, while the Shanghai Composite index fell 0.6% to 2,940.88.
China reported that the consumer price index fell to 0.2% in June from 0.3% in May, lower than expected, mainly due to price declines for food products other than pork.
“Weak consumer confidence continues to drive consumption towards seeking better value for money purchases, and competition in the EV sector continues to drive prices down, suppressing overall inflation,” Lynn Song of ING Economics said in a commentary.
Australia’s S&The P/ASX 200 fell 0.2% to 7,816.80.
In Seoul, the Kospi was largely unchanged at 2,867.99. Taiwan’s Taiex rose 0.5%, while India’s Sensex fell 0.7%.
On Tuesday is the S&The P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite each rose 0.1%, enough to push the indexes to record highs for the second time this week.
All in all, the S&The P 500 rose 4.13 points to 5,576.98. The Nasdaq rose 25.55 points to close at 18,429.29. The Dow fell 0.1 percent to 39,291.97.
Stocks have been steadily gaining ground in recent months and that has the S&P 500 to 36 records so far this year.
In testimony Tuesday before the Senate Banking Committee, Powell reiterated that inflation has decreased particularly over the past two years, though it is still above the central bank’s 2% target. He also noted that there is a risk that the Fed cuts interest rates too late or too little, warning that either scenario could weaken the economy and labor market.
Powell is scheduled to testify before the House Financial Services Committee later Wednesday, ahead of new inflation updates later this week.
Traders are still betting there is a 70% chance the central bank will cut its key interest rate as early as September, according to data from CME Group.
Treasury yields rose slightly in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose slightly to 4.30% from 4.28% Monday night.
The Fed has remained cautious about taking steps to cut rates, keeping the key rate at its highest level in more than two decades as it cautiously awaits more signs that inflation is still cooling.
While prices have fallen sharply over the past two years as the Fed raised interest rates, the central bank’s goal is to bring inflation back to its 2% target without slowing economic growth too much.
The rate has hovered around 3% and continues to put pressure on consumers, especially lower-income consumers.
Wall Street expects a report on Thursday to show consumer prices fell to 3.1% in June, from 3.3% in May. A report on wholesale inflation, before costs are passed on to consumers, is due Friday.
Traders are also looking ahead to several earnings reports this week, with Delta Air Lines set to report results on Thursday.
JPMorgan, Citigroup and Wells Fargo are scheduled to report results on Friday. The updates could provide more insight into consumer debt levels and whether banks are worried about payments and potential defaults.
In other trading, benchmark U.S. crude fell 47 cents to $80.94 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Wednesday morning.
Brent crude, the international standard, fell 56 cents to $84.10 a barrel.
The US dollar rose to 161.45 Japanese yen from 161.34 yen. The euro climbed to 1.0821 dollars from 1.0813.