Asian Stock Market: Hang Seng led declines amid China’s property sector concern

• Asian stocks mostly edge lower on Wednesday despite its higher US counterparts.
• Investors remain concerned about Beijing’s plan to introduce a real estate tax, the latest COVID-19 outbreak in Gansu province.
• Upbeat Australia’s quarterly CPI figures cemented early RBA’s rate hike bets.

Asia-Pacific stocks edge lower amid reduced risk appetite ahead of major central banking policy updates. Further, investors remained concerned about higher inflation and the indebted real estate sector in China. 

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged down 0.53%, so far.

The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.47%, following fresh concerns after another real-estate developer, Modern Land defaulted. Chinese authorities asked Evergrande Group’s founder Hui Ka Yan to use his personal wealth to pay off the firm’s debt. Further, there were 59 confirmed coronavirus cases as compared to 43 in the previous day.

The Nikkei 225 index declined 0.4% as investors geared up for the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) monetary policy update on Thursday.

The ASX 200 traded 0.4% higher on Wednesday. The market sentiment was lifted by ongoing economic reopening plans. Australia’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.8% in September on a quarterly basis, as per the market expectations.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 1.80% while South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.71%.