South Korea and Taiwan stocks fall; Asian FX inch lower
Shares in South Korea fell 2.3% to hit their lowest level in more than a month, after megacap tech companies on Wall Street dipped overnight following a record-breaking run for much of the year.
Chipmaker SK Hynix dropped 4.6% on Wednesday, while battery maker LG Energy Solution slipped 2.3%.
Taiwanese stocks slid 3% to their lowest level in two weeks, with semiconductor giant TSMC down 4.2%. The benchmark had hit a record high earlier this week.
Elsewhere in Southeast Asia, Malaysian shares slipped 0.3%, while Thai stocks were flat.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the annual Jackson Hole symposium on Friday is the main focus, with traders watching for any pushback against market pricing of a rate cut next month.
'Investors will be curious to see if the recent US data deluge has caused Powell's opinions to shift,' said Vasu Menon, managing director for investment strategy at OCBC.
The Fed will release minutes of its July 29–30 policy meeting later on Wednesday, although they may offer limited clues as the meeting preceded the weak July jobs data.
The US dollar index rose for a third straight session, weighing on Asian currencies. The South Korean won and Taiwan's dollar both fell 0.5%.
'The minutes may be able to inform us on where the consensus leans towards amid growing contention between the two mandates of the Fed, employment and stable prices,' said Fiona Lim, a senior forex strategist at Maybank Singapore.
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