[MARKET ANALYSIS] Asia-Pac stocks are mostly lower following Warsh's hawkish Jackson Hole message and geopolitical flare up in the Middle East

APAC Stocks: Mostly Negative

• Asia-Pac stocks are mostly on the backfoot heading into month-end and after recent hawkish comments from Fed Chair Warsh at Jackson Hole, while tensions in the Middle East escalated after the US and Iran resumed strikes for the first time in over a month.

ASX 200: +0.1%

• Bucks the trend and just about remains afloat amid strength in the top-weighted financials sector and with gains also seen in energy, utility and consumer industries, although upside is limited following disappointing Private Sector Credit and quarterly Company Profits data.

Nikkei 225: -1.2%

• Gapped lower at the open with the index beneath the 66,000 level, although it is off today's worst levels as participants also reflect on stronger-than-expected Japanese Industrial Production and Retail Sales data.

KOSPI -1.3%

• Retreated amid weakness in its tech heavyweights and with a report noting that day traders are abandoning Korean chip leveraged ETFs in large numbers, with leveraged ETFs targeting twice the daily returns of chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, on course for their first monthly outflow.

Hang Seng & Shanghai Comp: Hang Seng -0.7% / Shanghai Comp -0.2%

• Chinese markets are subdued, with risk appetite not helped by the latest official PMI data, in which headline Manufacturing topped forecasts, but Non-Manufacturing disappointed and both remained in contraction territory.

US Equity Futures: Lower

• Mildly declined amid headwinds from Fed Chair Warsh's recent hawkish comments and the geopolitical escalation in the Middle East.

European Equity Futures -0.4%

• Indicate a lower cash market open with Euro Stoxx 50 futures down 0.4% after the cash market closed with gains of 1.0% on Friday.