The Asian markets concluded Wednesday’s trade mostly in red, amid worries about Ukraine and mounting concern that China’s economy is slowing. The Bank of Japan board minutes noted that the current recovery is exerting more upward pressure on prices than it is boosting economic growth. The minutes showed that wage increases and price rises resulting from supply-side constrains might not be enough to bring 2% sustained inflation by 2015. A leading international organization is warning that the global economy will grow by less than expected this year after it cut forecasts for the United States and China. The OECD, a think tank for the world’s most developed countries, blamed slower growth in large developing economies like China for the downgrade. It cut China’s growth forecast this year to 7.4% from 8.2% in November. Malaysian Trade Balance fell to 9.60B, from 10.40B in the preceding month.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 2010.08 | -17.96 | -0.89 |
Hang Seng | 21746.26 | -230.07 | -1.05 |
Jakarta Composite | 4862.07 | 27.60 | 0.57 |
KLSE Composite | 1860.43 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
Nikkei 225 | 14033.45 | -424.06 | -2.93 |
Straits Times | 3236.43 | -9.13 | -0.28 |
KOSPI Composite | 1939.88 | -19.56 | -1.00 |
Taiwan Weighted | 8893.22 | -19.17 | -0.22 |