Asia markets live: RBI decision, Honda earnings

Asia Pacific markets ended the trading day in the green.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.6% to 40,794.86, while the Topix added 1.02% to end the trading day at 2,966.57.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.84% higher at 8,843.7. Mainland China’s CSI 300 ended the 0.24% higher at 4,113.49.

South Korea’s Kospi was flat at 3,198.14.

— Lee Ying Shan

Japanese auto giant Honda’s first quarter operating profits fell 50% year over year on Wednesday, missing estimates due to U.S. auto tariffs and a stronger yen.

In the first quarter of its fiscal year, which ended on June 30, Honda’s revenue came in at 5.34 trillion yen, beating mean estimates from LSEG.

Operating profit fell about 50% to 244.17 billion yen, missing LSEG mean estimates of 323.48 billion yen.

The earnings come after Japanese automobile makers began cutting prices on vehicle shipments to the U.S. in response to American President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on imported vehicles, which came into effect on April 3. 

Read more here.

– Dylan Butts

Cathay Pacific stocks extended declines, falling over 8% even after the carrier posted a 1% rise in first-half profit, supported by increased passenger traffic and lower jet fuel costs.

Cathay Pacific also announced its purchase of 14 Boeing 777-9 aircraft in a press release Wednesday.

—Lee Ying Shan

India’s central bank kept its policy rate steady at 5.5% Wednesday in the face of rising tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.

The move was in line with expectations from economists polled by Reuters, and comes after the Reserve Bank of India delivered an outsized cut of 50 basis points at its last meeting in June.

During its last meeting, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said that given the 50-basis-point cut, there was limited room for monetary policy to support growth, and as such, the RBI would switch its stance to “neutral” from “accommodative.”

This means that the Monetary Policy Committee, which is the RBI’s key decision-making body, will carefully assess the “incoming data and the evolving outlook to chart out the future course of monetary policy,” Malhotra said.

Read the full story here.

—Lim Hui Jie

Asian chip stocks fell after U.S. President Donald Trump said he will unveil new tariffs on semiconductors and chips as soon as next week.

Japan’s Tokyo Electron and Lasertec fell 3.46% and 1.82% respectively. Renesas Electron lost 3.68%.

Shares of South Korean memory chipmakers also fell. SK Hynix lost 2.09%, while Samsung Electronics lost 1.43%. Taiwan’s TSMC stocks fell 2.17%.

“We’re going to be announcing on semiconductors and chips, which is a separate category, because we want them made in the United States,” Trump said during a lengthy interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

Trump said that the announcement will come “within the next week or so.” He did not provide other details about the plan.

— Lee Ying Shan

Shares of Cathay Pacific Airways slipped 0.58% following reports that the airline is set to place its first aircraft order from Boeing in more than a decade, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The Hong Kong-based carrier is also scheduled to release its first-half earnings later in the day.

Australian equities rose as much as 0.61% to hit a record high of 8,824 in early trade.

Index heavyweights like Commonwealth Bank and Westpac Banking Corporation were up over 1% and 0.74% respectively. Mining firm BHP Group was 0.28% higher.

Asia markets opened mixed.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.38% at the open. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slid 0.12% and the Topix rose 0.45%.

South Korea’s Kospi and small-cap Kosdaq lost 0.64% and 0.57%, respectively.

— Lee Ying Shan

Happy Wednesday from Singapore. Asia markets are poised for a lower open.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was set to start the day lower with futures tied to the benchmark at 8,739, compared with its last close of 8,770.4.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was set to open higher, with the futures contract in Osaka last trading at 40,555, against the index’s last close of 40,549.54.

Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index stood at 24,812, pointing to a weaker open compared with the HSI’s last close of 24,902.53.

— Lee Ying Shan

The three leading U.S. indexes finished lower Tuesday.

The S&P 500 fell 0.49%, closing at 6,299.19, while the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.65% to end at 20,916.55. The Dow Jones Industrial Average moved 61.90 points lower, or 0.14%, to settle at 44,111.74.

— Sean Conlon

President Donald Trump spoke with “Squawk Box” in a wide-ranging conversation. Here are some of the highlights:

On semiconductors, Trump said his administration is going to announce new tariffs “within the next week or so.” “We’re going to be announcing on semiconductors and chips, which is a separate category, because we want them made in the United States,” he said during the interview.

When it comes to his planned pharmaceutical tariffs, Trump said that the levies could eventually reach up to 250%. That’s the highest tariff rate he’s threatened to date.

The president also revealed in the interview that he’s considering four candidates for future Federal Reserve chair, which does not include Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. “Well, I love Scott, but he wants to stay where he is,” Trump said.

— Kevin Breuninger, Annika Kim Constantino, Jeff Cox, Sean Conlon