In Asia, futures pointed to a lower open for equities in Japan. Nikkei futures traded in Chicago were off 0.48 percent at 19,900 and Osaka futures 0.23 percent lower at 19,950. Those compared to the benchmark Nikkei 225 index’s Tuesday close of 19,996.01.
In Australia, SPI futures were down 1.08 percent at 5,682, lower than the S&P/ASX 200’s previous close of 5,743.754.
The Singapore market is closed for the National Day public holiday.
On the earnings front, Commonwealth Bank of Australia announced Wednesday its full-year profits rose 4.6 percent to A$9.88 billion ($7.82 billion). The bank currently faces allegations it breached money laundering rules Down Under. CBA scrapped the bonus of its chief executive following the allegations.
Meanwhile, potential market movers in Asia could include Hong Kong’s Esprit Holdings. The retailer release its full-year profit estimate for the year that ended on June 30. The company said net profits were expected to come in at a range between HK$50 million ($6.39 million) to HK$80 million ($10.23 million) compared to the HK$21 million ($1.53 million) seen last year.
Other corporate news of note included the announcement of a joint venture between Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Yahoo Japan. The 300 million yen ($2.71 million) joint venture aims to process customer data at the Japanese bank in order to improve services, Nikkei Asian Review reported.
The Hong Kong Exchange Group and Japan’s Bridgestone are also expected to report earnings during the day.
Ahead, investors are expected to focus on inflation data out of China during the trading session (all times in HK/SIN):
- 8:30 a.m.: Australia Westpac Consumer Confidence Index
- 9:30 a.m.: China July CPI and PPI
—Reuters contributed to this report.