Asian equity benchmarks are trading down in the early deals on Friday after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi announced less stimulus measures than the market consensus had expected. The ECB cut its deposit rate by the minimum 0.1 percentage point to -0.3%, and extended its asset purchase program, but did not increase its monthly government bond purchases. Meanwhile, remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen in her testimony before the congressional Joint Economic Committee seemed to indicate the central bank remains on track to raise interest rates later this month. Investors will now shift focus to the US Labor Department's monthly jobs report that will be released later today, due to its potential impact on the outlook for US interest rates. The Japan's Nikkei share average suffered its biggest daily drop in more than a month as the European Central Bank dashed expectations for greater stimulus, triggering a broader sell-off after the dollar weakened against the yen.
Nikkei 225 declined 455.70 points or 2.29% to 19,484.20, Hang Seng slipped 252.13 points or 1.12% to 22,164.88, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI dropped 5.48 points or 0.33% to 1,668.44, Straits Times contracted 11.93 points or 0.41% to 2,871.96, Shanghai Composite dipped 42.70 points or 1.19% to 3,542.13, Taiwan Weighted decreased 47.71 points or 0.56% to 8,408.35, KOSPI Index crumbled 18.68 points or 0.94% to 1,975.39, and Jakarta Composite was down by 28.49 points or 0.63% to 4,508.89.
MoneyWorks4Me is a SEBI-registered Investment Adviser (IA) dedicated to helping investors build long-term wealth through transparent, research-driven, conflict-free guidance. Founded in 2008, we started our journey as a Research Analyst (RA), providing deep fundamental analysis, intrinsic value insights, and long-term investing frameworks for Indian equities. In 2017, we transitioned to a full-fledged SEBI-registered Investment Adviser, strengthening our commitment to acting as a fiduciary—always putting the investor’s interest first.
To become India’s most trusted, research-powered fiduciary advisory platform—where every investor, regardless of experience, can make calm, confident, and well-reasoned investment decisions.
MoneyWorks4Me ensures this through: