Asian equity markets made a mixed closing on Friday, as investors awaited Fed Chair Janet Yellen's Jackson Hole speech later in the day for clues to the timing of the central bank's next rate increase. Japanese shares hit three-week lows as the yen firmed up against the dollar and an official report showed Japan's consumer prices dropped for the fifth straight month in July due mainly to declining crude oil prices. Core consumer prices fell 0.5 percent in July from a year earlier, marking the biggest fall in more than three years. Meanwhile, Chinese shares ended flat as signs of cooling in the housing market as well as receding expectations of aggressive monetary easing dragged down property stocks.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,070.31 | 1.98 | 0.06 |
Hang Seng | 22,909.54 | 94.59 | 0.41 |
Jakarta Composite | 5,438.83 | -15.29 | -0.28 |
KLSE Composite | 1,683.09 | 2.79 | 0.17 |
Nikkei 225 | 16,360.71 | -195.24 | -1.18 |
Straits Times | 2,857.65 | -19.28 | -0.67 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,037.50 | -5.42 | -0.27 |
Taiwan Weighted | 9,131.72 | 16.25 | 0.18 |