Photo/Illutration Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Aug. 28, 2024. (AP Photo)

Asian shares were mostly lower Wednesday, despite a record high on Wall Street, as investors awaited a closely watched earnings report from Nvidia.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slid nearly 0.3% in morning trading to 38,188.50.

Toyota stock jumped more than 3% after Japanese media reported Japan’s top automaker was going to announce a cooperative agreement on fuel cells with European automaker BMW.

Fuel cell vehicles are ecological, running on electricity produced when hydrogen and oxygen combines to form water. Japanese business daily Nikkei reported a partnership will be announced next week.

Toyota Motor Corp., often criticized as falling behind the global push in electric vehicles, is a longtime proponent of fuel cells.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.6% to 8,024.70. Australia’s headline index of inflation for July fell less than expected, down 3.5% from the previous year.

South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.5% to 2,674.72

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, which has been rising steadily in recent sessions, dipped 0.8% to 17,735.39. Analysts believe the higher-than-expected China’s industrial profits reported this week isn’t great enough to maintain the optimism. The Shanghai Composite dipped 0.3% to 2,839.34.

All eyes are on the upcoming Nvidia earnings report. Big tech companies like Nvidia have become extremely influential lately, if not overblown, with the artificial intelligence company’s total market value topping $3 trillion.

Nvidia reports its latest results on Wednesday. It rose 1.5% on Tuesday and has made a 159% gain this year.

“That’s the major question, and I think all eyes will be on Nvidia as they report this week,” said Bill Merz, head of capital markets research at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. “That’s kind of the elephant in the room, so to speak, that many investors will focus on.”

Also high on investors’ watch is the expectation for the Federal Reserve to cut its main interest rate at its next meeting in September. Investors are looking ahead to Friday, when the U.S. government releases its latest data on inflation with the PCE, or personal consumption and expenditures report, for July.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 9 points, or less than 0.1%, which was good enough for its second all-time high in two days. The index is on an eight-day winning streak.

The benchmark S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite each finished 0.2% higher after drifting between small gains and losses most of the day. The benchmark S&P 500 is now within 0.8% of its record high set last month. Slightly more stocks closed lower than those that posted gains on the New York Stock Exchange.

In a bit of positive news, the Conference Board, a business research group, said its U.S. consumer confidence index rose to 103.3 in August from 101.9 in July. Consumer spending accounts for nearly 70% of U.S. economic activity.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 8.96 points to 5,625.80. The Dow rose 9.98 points to 41,250.50, and the Nasdaq gained 29.05 points to close at 17,754.82.

Treasury yields held steady in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 3.83% from 3.82% late Monday.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude rose 22 cents to $75.75 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 25 cents to $79.80 a barrel.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 144.35 Japanese yen from 143.91 yen. The euro cost $1.1179, down from $1.1188.

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