Asia stocks mixed ahead of Powell speech

August 22, 2025 (MLN): Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Friday as investors awaited U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the central bank’s annual economic symposium, which could offer clues into the path of interest rates.

South Korea’s Kospi jumped 0.66% and the small-cap Kosdaq was 0.41% higher.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.18%, while the Topix rose 0.37%.

The country’s core inflation rate cooled to 3.1% in July, coming down from 3.3% the month before, as CNBC reported.

The figure which strips out costs for fresh food was higher than the 3% expected by economists polled by Reuters.

Rice inflation eased to 90.7% in July, following two months of inflation surging past the 100% mark.

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.3% after the index crossed the 9,000 mark for the first time Thursday.

Mainland China’s CSI 300 jumped 1.18%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.32%. India’s Nifty 50 slipped 0.52% at the open.

Overnight stateside, stocks fell broadly Thursday, with the S&P 500 sliding for the fifth day in a row.

The broad-market index shed 0.4% and closed at 6,370.17, while the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.34% and settled at 21,100.31.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 152.81 points, or 0.34%, ending at 44,785.50.

Fed funds futures are pricing in a nearly 74% likelihood of the central bank cutting rates at its next policy gathering in September, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.

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