Asian markets likely to open lower as investors await Jackson Hole meeting and assess Japanese inflation data – NBC Chicago

• In Japan, the inflation rate was 2.8%, unchanged from the previous month.
• However, the so-called “core-core” inflation rate, which excludes prices of fresh food and energy and is monitored by the Bank of Japan, fell from 2.2% to 1.9% in July.
• This is the lowest core-to-core inflation rate since September 2022.

Markets in the Asia-Pacific region are expected to open lower on Friday as investors await remarks from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell in Jackson Hole.

In the past, Powell has outlined comprehensive policy initiatives and provided guidance on the policy direction in Jackson Hole.

In Asia, data from Japan showed that the country's inflation stood at 2.8% in July, unchanged from the previous month.

Core inflation, which excludes fresh food prices, was 2.7 percent, in line with expectations of economists polled by Reuters and higher than the June reading of 2.6 percent.

However, the so-called “core-core” inflation rate, which excludes both fresh food and energy prices and is tracked by the Bank of Japan, fell from 2.2 percent in June to 1.9 percent in July.

This is the lowest core-to-core inflation rate since September 2022.

Japan's Nikkei 225 futures pointed to a stronger market open following the release of the consumer price index, with the Chicago futures contract settling at 38,225 and its Osaka counterpart at 38,170, compared to the previous close of 38,211.01.

Futures for the Australian S&P/ASX 200 were at 7,955, slightly below their previous close of 8,027.

Hong Kong Hang Seng Index futures were at 17,490, below the HSI's last closing price of 17,641.

In the US, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite posted the biggest loss of all three major indexes overnight, losing 1.67%, as technology stocks felt the brunt of Thursday's losses.

The broad S&P 500 lost 0.89 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.43 percent.

— CNBC's Alex Harring and Pia Singh contributed to this report.