Australia

The ASX is set for a small opening loss, after US benchmarks lost ground overnight.

ASX futures were down 0.2% or 18 points as of 8:30am on Wednesday, suggesting a lower open.

US stocks fell on Tuesday, with traders fretting that Saudi Arabia's and Russia's decision to extend oil-production cuts could curtail growth. But it could be China that has the most to worry about.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil rose 1.2% to US$90.04 a barrel while gold was slightly up at US$1,926.28.

In local bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds were flat at 3.83% while the 10 Year yield rose slightly to 4.13%. US Treasury notes were higher, with the 2 Year yield at 4.96% and the 10 Year yield at 4.26%.

The Australian dollar was lower at 63.75 US cents from its previous close of 63.78. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies, edged down to 99.17.

Asia

Chinese shares ended lower on fading optimism over Beijing's recent supportive measures. The Caixin Services PMI released earlier Tuesday showed a notable decline in August to 51.8 from 54.1 in July. This suggests that activity in the services sector continued to improve but at a significantly slower pace, Goldman Sachs analysts said in a note. Losses were broad-based with developers and financials leading the declines. China Vanke fell 1.1% and China Merchants Shekou Industrial Zone Holdings declined 2.7%. China Life Insurance fell 2.4%. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed 0.7% lower at 3154.37 while the Shenzhen Composite Index fell 0.6% and the tech-heavy ChiNext Price Index declined 0.3%.

Hong Kong shares ended lower, paring the previous day's gains, with investor mood weighed by the decline in the Caixin China services PMI in August and worries over China's long-term growth. The Hang Seng Index dropped 2.1% to 18456.91. China's economy is still facing some major challenges, with external headwinds looking set to persist for a while longer, Capital Economics analysts say in a note. Property stocks and tech companies were lower. Seazen Group retreated 3.3% and Longfor Group Holdings declined 4.4%. The Hang Seng Tech Index dropped 2.6%, with Li Auto declining 3.25% and Baidu dropping 1.5%.

Japanese stocks ended higher, led by gains in real estate and electronics stocks, as the yen weakened. Sumitomo Realty & Development gained 3.1% and Olympus Corp. climbed 1.9%. Meanwhile, JFE Holdings dropped 6.1% following its plan to raise capital by selling new shares. The Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.3% to 33036.76. Investors are focusing on monthly business updates from companies and economic data for policy implications. The 10-year Japanese government bond yield rose 1.5 basis points to 0.655%.

Indian shares closed higher amid hopes that the Fed may be near the end of its rate-hike cycle as economic data continues to cool. The benchmark Sensex closed 0.2% higher at 65780.26. Midcap stocks led gains, with the S&P BSE 150 MidCap Index up 1.1%. Devyani International rose 8.5% and Bayer CropScience was up 8.4%. Among stocks on the benchmark index, Sun Pharmaceutical was the best performer, advancing 2.1%. Among losers, UltraTech Cement slid 1.5% and Maruti Suzuki India fell 0.9%.

Europe

European stocks mostly dropped, though oil stocks gained as crude prices rise. The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.2% and France's CAC 40 and Germany's DAX retreated 0.3%. Still, BP, Eni, Repsol, Shell, TotalEnergies and other oil-related shares advance as the price of Brent crude rallies 1.3% to $90.05 a barrel. "This came about in the wake of Saudi Arabia and Russia announcing they would be extending their output cuts into year-end, pushing Brent crude oil prices back above $90 a barrel for the first time since last November," CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson writes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edges 0.2% lower and gold and silver prices drop 0.7% and 1.9% respectively.

U.K. retailers such as B&M European Value Retail, Tesco and Kingfisher are among the biggest FTSE 100 fallers after mixed economic data. U.K. total retail sales increased 4.1% in August, against a 1% rise in August 2022, according to the British Retail Consortium and accountancy firm KPMG. Still, consumer credit and debit-card spending gains slowed to 2.8% in August year-on-year from 4% in July, according to Barclays data cited by Interactive Investor. Meanwhile, the S&P Global/CIPS U.K. services PMI shrank to 49.5 in August from 51.5 in July, the lowest since January. "Service providers saw customer spending reverse course during August as higher borrowing costs, subdued business confidence and stretched household finances acted to curtail sales opportunities," S&P Global's Tim Moore writes.

North America

US stocks fell on Tuesday, with traders fretting that Saudi Arabia's and Russia's decision to extend oil-production cuts could curtail growth. But it could be China that has the most to worry about.

Oil prices rose on the decision, Brent crude rising $1.04 to $90.04 per barrel, putting it at its highest level since last November.

Stocks slipped, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 196 points--or 0.6%--the S&P 500 dropping 0.4% and the Nasdaq edging down 0.1%. Treasury yields rose, perhaps because higher oil prices augur more persistent inflation.