Asia-Pacific Markets Steady Ahead of Warsh's Jackson Hole Speech

Asian markets traded quietly on Thursday, adopting a wait-and-see approach ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's anticipated speech at the Jackson Hole symposium. The event opens Thursday evening US time, with Warsh scheduled to speak on Friday morning.

In the Middle East, the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency reported that Iran struck a Kuwaiti oil tanker on August 25 in the Strait of Hormuz while the vessel was under US escort. This incident marked a notable flashpoint in an otherwise subdued news flow from the region, impacting oil prices minimally.

Gold prices rose to approximately $4,640 before stalling, supported by concerns over dollar depreciation and rising US debt levels.

Australian economic data showed household spending increased by 1.1% month-on-month in July, significantly surpassing the forecast of 0.4%. Annual growth accelerated to 7.0% from 6.1%, reinforcing expectations for a rate hike from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).

In China, industrial profit growth slowed to an 11.2% annual pace in July, marking a seven-month low. The January to July profit growth rate eased to 17.6% from 18.7% in the first half of the year, indicating a potential loss of momentum in the AI-driven recovery.

Central bank commentary across Asia leaned hawkish. Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino emphasized the need for timely rate hikes to prevent future inflation spikes, while the Bank of Korea raised its policy rate to 3.00% from 2.75% for the second consecutive time.

The People's Bank of China resumed net injections through overnight reverse repos as cash demand increased ahead of the month-end.

In corporate news, Nvidia reported better-than-expected fiscal Q2 2027 results, with revenue and EPS surpassing estimates. However, shares initially fell by 3% in after-hours trading before rebounding as CFO Colette Kress projected fiscal 2028 revenue growth of around 70%, significantly above analyst expectations. Nvidia also announced its acquisition of Hugging Face for $12.9 billion.