Japan's consumer prices fell for a fifth straight month in July
It was a mixed finish in Asia, with Tokyo stocks vastly underpeforming their regional peers. Specifically, Japan's Nikkei shed 1.2%, after a report showed consumer prices fell for a fifth straight month in July. South Korea's Kospi also finished in the red, down 0.3% at the close. Stocks in China were
on the mend, however, with the Shanghai Composite edging up 0.07%, while the Hong Kong Hang Seng added 0.4%.
European markets are sticking close to the flatline at midday, ahead of this morning's speech from U.S. Fed Chair Janet Yellen at the annual central bank symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Traders are hoping Yellen will paint a clearer picture of the central bank's timeline for raising interest rates, following yesterday's
round of relatively hawkish Fed talk.
In the meantime, investors are sifting through a raft of economic data, including a report from the European Central Bank (ECB) that showed lending across the eurozone edged up in July. Additionally, consumer confidence rose by a wider-than-expected margin in France this month, while consumer spending increased across the U.K. in the second quarter. Against this backdrop, London's FTSE 100 is up 0.09%, the French CAC 40 is 0.04% higher, and the German DAX is down 0.1%.
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