This is CNBC's live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.
Asia-Pacific markets were trading lower on Wednesday, led by Hong Kong markets, while China's benchmark index closed at its lowest level in over a month as investors assessed earnings and comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve board members.
Shares of Chinese food delivery giant Meituan plunged 12%{
Meituan shares plunge to 44-month low as delivery firm warns of slower Q4 growth
Meituan's Hong Kong-listed shares plunged more than 11% to 91.65 Hong Kong dollars by afternoon trading.
Shares of the Chinese delivery firm fell to their lowest level since late March 2020 as it struck a cautious tone in its third quarter earnings call, according to a transcript by FactSet.
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"We think in Q4 revenue year-over-year gross profit delivery will be slightly lower than the Q3 growth rate," Meituan management warned on the call.
The company said on Tuesday its third-quarter revenue rose 22.1% to 76.47 billion Chinese yuan ($10.81 billion) from a year earlier. Adjusted net profit came in at 5.7 billion yuan ($809 million).
Hong Kong's main Hang Seng index fell nearly 2%.
— Shreyashi Sanyal
Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo posted 94% revenue growth in the third quarter, far outpacing Alibaba's 9% growth in the same period.
The mainland Chinese CSI 300 index closed 0.86% lower at 3,488.31, falling to the lowest level since late October.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index tumbled 2.47% in the final hour of trading, leading losses among major Asian benchmarks.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 extended gains from Tuesday and climbed 0.29% to close at 7,035.3. as the country's overall inflation rate for October slowed to 4.8%, its lowest rate since January 2022.
South Korea's Kospi slipped marginally, finishing at 2,519.81 after hitting a two-month high on Tuesday, but the small-cap Kosdaq closed 0.73% up at 822.44.
Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.26% to end at 33,321.22, marking three straight days of losses, while the Topix was down 0.51% and closed at 2,364.5.
Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes rose after Waller's comments that the Fed could be done hiking rates, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average adding 0.24%.
In contrast, Governor Michelle Bowman said more rate hikes will likely be needed, "so as to keep policy sufficiently restrictive to bring inflation down to our 2 percent target in a timely way."
The broader S&P 500 index inched higher by 0.1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.29%.
— CNBC's Pia Singh and Alex Harring contributed to this report.
Thailand central bank holds rates for the first time since August 2022
Thailand's central bank held its benchmark interest rate at 2.5% for the first time since August 2022.
The Bank of Thailand's decision was in line with expectations of economists polled by Reuters, and marked the first pause in eight meetings. In that time, the BOT raised rates by a total of 200 basis points from 0.5% in June last year.
The Thai baht strengthened marginally against the U.S. dollar after the announcement, trading at 34.71 and hitting its lowest level since Aug. 7.
— Lim Hui Jie
Meituan shares plunge to 44-month low as delivery firm warns of slower Q4 growth
Meituan's Hong Kong-listed shares plunged more than 11% to 91.65 Hong Kong dollars by afternoon trading.
Shares of the Chinese delivery firm fell to their lowest level since late March 2020 as it struck a cautious tone in its third quarter earnings call, according to a transcript by FactSet.
"We think in Q4 revenue year-over-year gross profit delivery will be slightly lower than the Q3 growth rate," Meituan management warned on the call.
The company said on Tuesday its third-quarter revenue rose 22.1% to 76.47 billion Chinese yuan ($10.81 billion) from a year earlier. Adjusted net profit came in at 5.7 billion yuan ($809 million).
Hong Kong's main Hang Seng index fell nearly 2%.
— Shreyashi Sanyal
South Korea markets will offer the highest earnings growth next year, Goldman Sachs says
South Korean stocks have so far emerged as an undervalued and underloved part of Asia-Pacific equity markets but that is exactly what could make them attractive to investors next year, according to Goldman Sachs.
Goldman even argued that South Korea markets offer the highest potential earnings growth in 2024 in the Asia-Pacific region as its semiconductor sector recovers from steep profit declines. The investment firm remains overweight on South Korean stocks.
"We forecast EPS growth to rebound to 54% in 2024 and to grow 20% further in 2025," Goldman said with regards to Korea's Kospi benchmark index.
South Korea is Asia's fourth largest economy but its markets are often considered undervalued by analysts, leading to what is sometimes referred to as the "Korea discount."
— Shreyashi Sanyal
New Zealand dollar jumps 1% as central bank holds rates, warns of more hikes
The New Zealand dollar jumped 1% to nearly 0.62 against the U.S. dollar after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand held its official cash rate at 5.5% and warned that rates could go higher to tackle inflation.
The kiwi dollar jumped to its highest level in nearly four months after the decision. The currency is down 2.5% so far this year and is headed for its third straight yearly decline.
The central bank noted that inflation is still too high and said monetary policy will need to remain restrictive in order to control it.
— Shreyashi Sanyal
Australia's inflation rate slows more than expected in October
Australia's weighted inflation rate for October slowed more than expected, coming in at 4.9% compared with the 5.2% expected by economists polled by Reuters.
This was also lower than the 5.6% seen in September. The overall inflation rate stood at 4.8%, its lowest level since January 2022.
The country's statistics bureau revealed that the most significant price rises were housing, food and non-alcoholic beverages, as well as transport.
— Lim Hui Jie
Major indexes head for best monthly performances this year
Despite muted trading on Tuesday, the three major indexes are on track to post major monthly gains.
The Dow is poised to finish the November trading month, which concludes with Thursday's closing bell, 6.9% higher. That would amount to the best monthly performance since October of 2022, when the blue-chip average added 14%.
The S&P 500 is on pace to end November up by 8.6%. The Nasdaq Composite has outperformed, climbing 10.8% so far in 2023's penultimate month.
If those performances hold, it would mark the best month for both since July of 2022. During that month, the broad S&P 500 advanced 9.1%, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq jumped 12.4%.
— Alex Harring
Oil settles 2% higher as OPEC meeting speculation moves market
Oil prices rebounded Tuesday as traders speculate about OPEC production cuts while a fierce storm forced Kazakhstan to slash its output.
The West Texas Intermediate contract for January rose $1.55, or 2.07%, to settle at $76.41 a barrel, while the Brent crude contract January gained $1.70, or 2.13%, to settle at $81.68.
OPEC and its allies, OPEC+, are scheduled to meet virtually Thursday, with most analysts expecting the group will at least extend current cuts into 2024.
OPEC delegates told Bloomberg Monday that Saudi Arabia is pressing members to reduce their production quotas but Riyadh is being met with resistance.
"While oil is waiting for the OPEC plus agreement, speculation about a deal or no deal or a surprise cut continues to move markets," said Phil Flynn with the Price Futures Group.
The upside from cuts should be capped given OPEC members have low appetite for compliance these days, said Tamas Varga with OVM Oil Associates.
Kazakhstan's largest oilfields, meanwhile, have slashed output by 56% as a storm on the Black Sea disrupts exports.
-- Spencer Kimball
Retail stocks outperforming on Tuesday
The early signs of consumer strength at the start of the holiday shopping season appear to be making investors more comfortable with retail stocks.
The SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) rose about 1%, on Tuesday, outperforming the broader market and erasing the modest decline the fund suffered on Monday.
Among the fund's top holdings, Foot Locker was one of the best performers, gaining nearly 3%.
— Jesse Pound
IPO pipeline gets crowded again as market rallies into year end
The initial public offering market has picked up once again as interest rates stabilize and the stock market rallies into the year end.
Chinese-founded fast-fashion company Shein has confidentially filed to go public in the U.S. as soon as 2024. Meanwhile, Kim Kardashian's shapewear label Skims is reportedly discussing strategic options including an IPO that could come next year. Social media firm Reddit has reportedly restarted talks about an IPO.
The slew of action followed mix performance from a handful of big-ticket debuts in the past few months. Shares of grocery delivery company Instacart and German shoe brand Birkenstock have both slid below their IPO price, while chip giant Arm — 2023's biggest IPO — has seen sizable gains in its share price.
The IPO market experienced a big lull in 2022 and early 2023 as an aggressive Federal Reserve, recession fears and geopolitical risks diminished appetite. Companies are now hoping to test the waters with hopes that the Fed is done hiking and will engineer a soft landing, which would keep the market hot.
— Yun Li