Asian equity markets showed a mixed performance on Thursday, as a firmer yen and weakness in global oil markets despite an unexpected drawdown in US crude and gasoline stocks took some of the shine off the minutes from the Federal Reserve's July monetary policy meeting. The FOMC minutes showed that officials were still split over the timing of the next interest-rate rise despite a strong rebound in employment in June. With weak growth in the US and abroad and consumer price inflation continuing to run below the Committee's longer-run objective of 2 percent, Fed officials stopped short of any signals on the timing of their next move. Chinese shares slid after an official survey showed China home price growth moderated in July. Japanese shares closed lower as the yen firmed up and weak trade data signaled continued weak demand. Reports showed that Japan's exports fell more than forecast in July but imports also dropped at their fastest pace since 2009, resulting in a bigger-than-expected trade surplus.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,104.11 | -5.44 | -0.17 |
Hang Seng | 23,023.16 | 223.38 | 0.98 |
Jakarta Composite | 5,461.45 | 89.60 | 1.67 |
KLSE Composite | 1,694.87 | 0.55 | 0.03 |
Nikkei 225 | 16,486.01 | -259.63 | -1.55 |
Straits Times | 2,836.98 | -6.37 | -0.22 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,055.47 | 11.72 | 0.57 |
Taiwan Weighted | 9,122.50 | 4.80 | 0.05 |