Asia-Pacific markets set for subdued open after Fed’s Powell signals no urgency to lower rates

Asia-Pacific markets were set to open mixed Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled there was no urgency to cut rates.

Powell on Tuesday re-emphasized the central bank’s focus on curbing inflation and signaled that policymakers were not in a rush to push interest rates lower.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.15% at the open.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures pointed to a higher open for the market. The futures contract in Chicago was at 39,105 and its counterpart in Osaka last traded at 39,080 compared to the index’s previous close of 38,801.17.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were at 21,551, also stronger than the HSI’s last close of 21,294.86.

India is slated to report its inflation data for January. SoftBank Group will be posting its fiscal third-quarter earnings later in the day.

Overnight in the U.S., the three major averages closed mixed. The S&P 500 added 0.03% to end at 6,068.50, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.36% to close at 19,643.86. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 123.24 points, or 0.28%, to 44,593.65.

Powell’s testimony comes at a volatile time in Washington with President Donald Trump favoring tariffs against U.S. trading partners and with mixed messages coming from the administration on its approach to the Fed.

Powell said the current policy stance, with the benchmark Fed funds rate in a range between 4.25% and 4.5%, is providing flexibility. The Federal Open Market Committee held the rate in place at its late-January meeting.

— CNBC’s Jeff Cox, Pia Singh and Hakyung Kim contributed to this report.