Mainland China’s markets return to trade after the holidays

SINGAPORE – Asia-Pacific stocks fell on Wednesday morning. Mainland Chinese markets are expected to resume trading after the Monday and Tuesday public holidays.

The Nikkei 225 in Japan slipped 0.3% at the start of the session while the Topix index lost 0.36%.

In Australia, the S & P / ASX 200 fell slightly.

The MSCI’s largest Asia-Pacific stock index outside of Japan traded down 0.13%.

Mainland China’s markets reopen on Wednesdays after the Monday and Tuesday holidays. Investors will be watching the reaction to the ongoing fallout surrounding struggling developer China Evergrande Group.

The Hong Kong and South Korean markets are closed Wednesday for public holidays.

Overnight in the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 50.63 points to 33,919.84 while the S&P 500 fell about 0.1% to 4,354.19. The Nasdaq Composite outperformed, advancing 0.22% to 14,746.40.

Investors are eagerly awaiting the US Federal Reserve’s policy statement, expected Wednesday in the US, on when the central bank may cut its bond buying program.

The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 93.228 after slipping from levels above 93.3 earlier in the week.

The Japanese yen was trading at 109.14 per dollar, having strengthened around 110 against the greenback earlier this week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $ 0.7227 after falling yesterday from above $ 0.725.

Oil prices were higher on the morning of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures up 0.24% to $ 74.54 a barrel. US crude futures gained 0.27% to $ 70.68 a barrel.