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December 10, 2025 – 04:04

(Bloomberg) — Most Asian stocks fell following a sluggish session on Wall Street as investors awaited clues on the Federal Reserve’s policy path in its final interest-rate decision of the year.

Chinese equities led declines after a government report showed inflation edged up in November, damping expectations for lower interest rates. Shares also dropped in Japan and Australia, while US stock futures were little changed. Silver extended gains after rising to a record, while the dollar was mixed against its major peers.

Traders are anticipating a third consecutive Fed rate cut Wednesday, while the focus will be on the central bank’s latest dot plot, economic projections and comments from Chair Jerome Powell. Volatility around the decision has been among the defining characteristics of equity trading in the past six weeks, superseding concern about a potential AI bubble and the impact of President Donald Trump’s trade policies.

“Asian equities are drifting in light red as investors brace for one of the most ‘known-yet-unknown’ final Fed packages of the year,” said Hebe Chen, an analyst at Vantage Markets in Melbourne. “With a 25 basis-point cut widely viewed as locked in, the real swing factor will be the Fed’s economic projections, unusually delivered without a full quarter of verified data — leaving a wide runway for interpretation and volatility.”

China’s inflation edged higher last month, in a further sign that deflation is easing even as downward pressures on costs remain widespread. The consumer-price index climbed to 0.7% from a year earlier, after a 0.2% rise in October, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics.

Chinese retail stocks bucked the negative trend after Beijing called for prioritizing the industry as a key driver to boosting domestic demand. Retail should be prioritized as a key driver for building a robust domestic demand system and strengthening the domestic economic cycle, Vice Commerce Minister Sheng Qiuping said at a briefing.

Yonghui Superstores and Fujian Dongbai Group both rose by the 10% daily limit.

Treasuries were little changed in Asia after dropping Tuesday when US data showed October job openings increased to the highest level in five months. The Fed’s two previous cuts this year were intended to address weakening employment conditions, including a rise in the unemployment rate to nearly 4.5%.

Kevin Hassett, the frontrunner in Trump’s search to replace Powell, said on Tuesday that he sees plenty of room to substantially lower rates, even more than a quarter-point cut.

There’s a good chance the Fed statement could be tweaked in ways that signal a potential pause, Richard Franulovich, head of foreign-exchange strategy at Westpac Banking Corp. in Sydney, wrote in a client note.

“The dots are an x-factor and its worth noting the 2026 median for one cut is a flimsy one — it would only take one dovish member to pencil in an additional cut to shift the median lower to 2 cuts,” he said.

Globally, government debt markets have been under pressure as central bankers signal that their easing cycles are coming to an end. On Tuesday, Australia’s Michele Bullock declared her country’s easing phase over, following comments from the European Central Bank’s Isabel Schnabel that she’s comfortable with the next move being higher.

“Given all the tension in global bond markets at the moment, the meeting of the Fed could potentially add fuel to the fire,” said Vincent Juvyns, chief investment strategist at ING in Brussels. “Investors will also be watching very closely the results of Oracle and Broadcom. There’s a lot at stake this week.”

In commodities, silver extended gains after breaking above $60 an ounce for the first time on Tuesday, with traders betting on further monetary easing by the Fed and continued supply tightness. Oil held the biggest two-day drop in a month as concerns about global oversupply continued to weigh on sentiment.

Corporate News:

China Vanke Co. creditors are set to meet Wednesday as the distressed developer makes one more push to win support for a bond extension plan aimed at averting a default. SpaceX is moving ahead with plans for an initial public offering that would seek to raise significantly more than $30 billion, people familiar with the matter said, in a transaction that would make it the biggest listing of all time. Major investors in First Brands Group have offloaded stakes in the bankrupt auto supplier’s debt in recent days, causing the value of its most senior loan to collapse and prompting it to pull forward a lender call to calm nerves. Microsoft Corp. pledged to invest $17.5 billion in artificial intelligence and cloud computing in India over four years, targeting the world’s most populous nation to help fuel its growth. Indian food delivery major Swiggy Ltd. on Tuesday launched a new share offering for institutional investors to raise up to 100 billion rupees ($1.1 billion), just a year after its market debut. Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

S&P 500 futures were unchanged as of 12:03 p.m. Tokyo time Nikkei 225 futures (OSE) fell 0.8% Japan’s Topix was little changed Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was little changed Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.5% The Shanghai Composite fell 0.7% Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 0.2% Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was little changed at $1.1623 The Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 156.66 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.0616 per dollar Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin fell 0.2% to $92,475.48 Ether rose 0.3% to $3,311.47 Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 4.18% Japan’s 10-year yield was unchanged at 1.955% Australia’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 4.80% Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude was little changed Spot gold rose 0.2% to $4,215.25 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

–With assistance from Michael G. Wilson.

©2025 Bloomberg L.P.