Asia-Pacific markets fell on Wednesday as traders assessed July business activity data from Australia, tech earnings from the U.S. and awaited Japan PMI readings.
Late Tuesday, automaker Toyota said it will buyback 806.85 billion yen ($5.17 billion) of its shares from major Japanese banks and insurers, including Tokio Marine , Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group .
Heavyweight Samsung Electronics plunged 1.8%, even as Reuters reported that chip giant Nvidia had cleared its chips for use in a processor for the China market.
The South Korean electronics company is still grappling with a strike from its largest workers union, with talks on Tuesday yielding no results, according to the National Samsung Electronics Union, which has about 30,000 members.
Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 17,474, just marginally higher than the HSI's last close of 17,469.36.
Persons:
Topix, Australia's
Organizations:
Sydney Opera House, Japan PMI, Nikkei, PMI, Toyota, Tokio Marine, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Samsung Electronics, Reuters, Nvidia, National Samsung Electronics Union, Juno Bank . Hong
Locations:
Asia, Pacific, Australia, U.S, Japan, China, Korean, Juno Bank . Hong Kong