Asia-Pacific stocks slip; investors continue monitoring Chinese stocks

SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific fell in Wednesday morning trade, after the major indexes on Wall Street slipped overnight from their respective records touched in the previous session.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 declined 0.82% in early trade while the Topix index slipped 0.48%. South Korea’s Kospi shed 0.13%.

The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia dipped 0.11%. Australia’s second-quarter consumer price index is set to be released at 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN on Wednesday.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.13% lower.

Investors will continue monitoring Chinese shares following a sell-off this week that has sent Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index falling more than 8% in two days.

Shares of Apple supplier stocks in Asia-Pacific were also watched by investors after the tech giant warned that chip supply constraints could impact iPhones and iPads this quarter.

In Wednesday morning trade, shares of Murata Manufacturing in Japan fell 1.2% while South Korea’s LG Display edged 0.67% higher.

Overnight stateside, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 85.79 points to 35,058.52 while the S&P 500 shed 0.47% to 4,401.46. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.21% to 14,660.58.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 92.457 following a recent drop from above 92.7.

The Japanese yen traded at 109.81 per dollar, stronger than levels above 110.4 seen against the greenback earlier this week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7365, above levels below $0.732 seen last week.

Oil prices were higher in the morning of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures up 0.3% to $74.70 per barrel. U.S. crude futures gained 0.47% to $71.99 per barrel.

Here’s a look at what’s on tap:

• Australia: Second quarter consumer price index at 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN