A woman walks past an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index and NY Dow index at a securities firm in Tokyo Friday, August 16, 2019.
Traders are also awaiting the central bank's annual Jackson Hole seminar later this week and a Group of Seven summit this weekend for clues on what additional steps policymakers will take to boost economic growth. "Our trade-war headline-inspired relief rally appears to have run its course as I suspect there is still a lot of nervousness among US investors as the global economic realities are just too hard to ignore," said Stephen Innes at Valour Markets.Asian stock markets followed Wall Street lower on Wednesday as investors looked ahead for signs of possible plans for more US interest rate cuts.
Federal Reserve officials at their recent meeting believed the central bank could remain "patient" in deciding when to adjust interest rates, though some officials thought future rate hikes might still be needed.