Regional Equity Soften Ahead Of Jackson Hole

Regional Asia Pac equities are a sea of red following the negative lead from US and EU markets in Thursday trade. Losses are across the board, while US futures are mixed. Eminis sit a touch higher, last near 4388, while Nasdaq futures are down -0.15% to 14839.50. Markets may also be somewhat cautious ahead of Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole forum later in the US session.

• Hong Kong and China shares are lower to the break. The HSI down ~1%, with the tech index off around 2%. We saw a sharp pull back in US tech sentiment on Thursday.
• The CSI is down close to -0.50%. Brokerages have rallied on reports of lower commission rates for stock trading. This hasn't been enough to drive overall sentiment higher. Morgan Stanley also downgraded its China stock target for 2024 by 14%.
• In Japan, the Topix is down 0.80%, while the Nikkei has fallen ~1.85%. Tech names have weighed on the aggregate indices. The Kospi is off 0.70%, with offshore investors selling -$146.1mn of local shares today. The Taiex is down -1.40%, basically unwinding all of yesterday's gains.
• In SEA markets are weaker, but losses are less than 1%. The Philippines stock gauge down nearly 0.70% to sub 6200, with reports of lower bank lending weighing on the bank sector. The Singapore bourse is one of the few bright spots, last tracking close to flat.