Asia-Pacific markets traded broadly lower on Wednesday as renewed Middle East tensions weighed on investor sentiment after a brief pause in hostilities, with United States Central Command confirming American forces intercepted fresh missile attacks launched by Iran.
By 12 pm AEST (2 am GMT), Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 1.5%, Japan's Nikkei 225 had fallen 1.7%, and South Korea's KOSPI 200 dropped 4.9%.
South Korean technology stocks came under heavy pressure despite strong earnings from major chipmaker SK Hynix, which fell 3.8% despite reporting another record quarterly profit.
SK Hynix reported revenue of 79.32 trillion won (US$54.55 billion), below expectations of 84.07 trillion won, while operating profit came in at 60.54 trillion won, below forecasts of 64 trillion won.
Among data releases, Australia's consumer price index (CPI) increased 3.8% in the 12 months to June 2026, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Housing was the largest contributor to annual inflation, rising 6.8%, followed by food and non-alcoholic beverages and recreation and culture, both increasing 3.3% over the year.
ABS Head of Price Statistics Rachael McCririck said underlying inflation remained unchanged from the previous month.
“When we look through some of the bigger price movements, underlying inflation is steady at 3.6 per cent in the 12 months to June 2026. This is the same as in the 12 months to May 2026.”
Housing inflation reflected higher electricity costs and new dwelling prices.
“Electricity remains one of the biggest contributors to annual inflation, with costs 22.4 per cent higher than 12 months ago,” Ms McCririck said.
“This is largely because government rebates which reduced household electricity bills have ended.”
U.S. markets finished mixed on Tuesday as investors positioned for major technology earnings and the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1%, the S&P 500 rose 0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.2%.
In commodities, ICE Brent crude fell 4.4% to US$82.08 per barrel, while spot gold declined 1.2% to settle at US$4,028.28 per ounce.
Chinese equities weakened on Tuesday, with the SSE Composite Index falling 1.2% to 3,813.3, while the CSI 300 declined 2.8% to 4,569.5.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.4% to 25,310.9, while India's BSE Sensex eased 0.1% to 76,765.9.
European markets ended higher across the board, with investors largely looking past geopolitical concerns.
The UK's FTSE 100 advanced 0.8% to 10,871.0, Germany's DAX gained 0.4% to 25,464.0, and France's CAC 40 climbed 0.6% to 8,458.8.
