Bank of Japan Governor Warns of Market Instability

Asian markets experienced mixed performance as the Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda warned of ongoing instability in global markets, prompting cautious trading ahead of a significant speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose by 0.5%, while other indices like Australia's S&P/ASX 200 and South Korea's Kospi recorded slight declines. Ueda indicated that the BOJ would continue to pursue monetary policy normalization if the economy trends towards stable inflation, despite recent market turbulence linked to fears of a U.S. recession. Analysts expect no immediate rate hikes from the BOJ, with the next policy meeting scheduled for September 20. Meanwhile, on Wall Street, the S&P 500 faced a downturn of 0.9% amidst concerns about the impact of high interest rates on the economy. Looking ahead, the Fed is anticipated to begin cutting interest rates next month, which could provide a boost to the stock market, already showing signs of recovery from earlier losses.