Wall Street drifts into moderate trading around last week's records

BANGKOK (AP) Stocks fell Thursday in most Asian markets ahead of the release of a key U.S. inflation report due Friday, which could point the way forward for interest rates.

Benchmark indexes fell more than 1% in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney. U.S. oil prices and futures also fell.

This week, markets are mainly focused on the US government's inflation report, due Friday. The personal consumption expenditures index, or PCE, is the Federal Reserves preferred measure of inflation, and analysts said investors were in a wait-and-see posture after recent mixed data.

Latest inflation updates could influence central banks' decision on when to start cutting interest rates, which remain at their highest level in more than 20 years and are having an impact around the world .

In Asian trade, another round of measures to boost China's property market failed to improve market sentiment. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.9% to 17,746.53, while the Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.5%.

The latest move was taken by Beijing, one of China's largest cities, when Chinese capital reduced minimum down payment ratios and mortgage interest rates, starting Thursday.

Other Chinese cities have taken similar steps, in line with national policies aimed at luring buyers back into a market that has stagnated since the government cracked down on excessive borrowing by property developers, causing dozens of such companies to default on their debts. The economic slowdown has weighed on the entire economy, the world's second-largest.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index fell 1 percent to 39,286.97 on concerns about further weakness in the Japanese yen.

The U.S. dollar was trading at 160.43 yen Thursday morning, after crossing the 160 yen mark the previous day. Japanese authorities have warned that they may intervene in the market to reverse the trend, which has both positive and negative effects on the economy.

Elsewhere in Asia, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index fell 1% to 7,708.10, while shares also fell in Taiwan and India. Bangkok's SET fell, while stocks rose in Jakarta and Singapore.

A mostly quiet day of trading on Wednesday left Wall Street benchmarks near the all-time highs they set last week.

The S&P 500 index rose 0.2% to 5,477.90 after drifting between small gains and losses for most of the day. About 65% of stocks in the benchmark index fell.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up less than 0.1%, at 39,127.80, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.5% to 17,805.16.

Several major stocks helped offset the broader S&P 500 decline.

Amazon.com rose 3.9%, surpassing $2 trillion in market value for the first time. Its rise comes just days after Nvidia hit $3 trillion, briefly becoming Wall Street's most valuable company.

Chipotle posted a 0.3% gain on its first day of trading after its 50-for-1 stock split. It was previously among the most expensive stocks in the S&P 500.

FedEx helped offset losses with a 15.5% gain. The parcel carrier published results for its last quarter which far exceeded forecasts. Rivien soared 23.2% after Volkswagen announced it would invest up to $5 billion in the struggling electric vehicle maker.

Several large technology companies have gained ground. Apple rose 2% and Microsoft 0.3%. Their high values ​​tend to strongly influence the direction of the market.

Investors hope the Federal Reserve will soon begin cutting interest rates, but its efforts to bring inflation back to its 2% target have been arduous. Wall Street is betting on a rate cut at the central bank's September meeting.

The economy has remained relatively strong, despite inflation and high borrowing costs for consumers and businesses. However, economic growth is slowing and consumers seem more stressed and are redirecting their spending towards basic necessities. Wall Street is hoping the Fed can time its rate cuts to relieve pressure on the economy before it slows too much, but without missing its goal of curbing inflation.

In other trading, benchmark U.S. crude oil lost 21 cents to $80.69 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 19 cents to $84.28 a barrel.

The euro rose from $1.0681 to $1.0693.

___

AP Business writers Damian J. Troise and Stan Choe contributed.