BANGKOK — Asian stock markets drifted Wednesday after U.S. retail sales added to expectations the Federal Reserve will start scaling back its monetary stimulus this year.
The U.S. government said retail sales edged up in July by 0.2 percent, slightly less than expected. But core sales — a category that excludes autos, gas and building supplies — reached the highest level in seven months.
Retail sales are closely watched because consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of U.S. economic activity.
The figures could have an impact on expectations of when the Fed will start to reduce its monetary stimulus. Most economists think that so-called tapering will start as soon as next month.
Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart said Tuesday that it was too early to say when the bank would ease back on its stimulus, but hinted that it would likely happen before the end of the year. The Fed's next policy meeting is Sept. 17-18.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell marginally to 13,860.81. South Korea's Kospi advanced 0.2 percent to 1,915.88. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 shed less than 0.1 percent to 5,154.30.
Mainland Chinese shares were mixed. Hong Kong's stock exchange was closed after a storm signal was raised for approaching Typhoon Utor. If the signal is lowered before noon local time, trading will resume in the afternoon.
On Tuesday, European stocks received a boost after figures showed industrial production in euro countries rose by 0.7 percent in June from the month before. For the April-June quarter, output was up 1.2 percent.
