The Asian markets ended mostly in red on Thursday as a mixed lead from Wall Street and the oil price downturn kept investors nervous, heading into key central bank meetings. The Bank of England and the US Federal Reserve are expected to keep rates on hold, while economists remain divided over what the Bank of Japan will do at the end of its two-day policy meeting next week. Japanese shares led regional losses to close at their lowest levels in nearly three weeks, as the yen held strong against its peers on skepticism over BOJ's further easing at next week's meeting. The markets in China, South Korea and Taiwan were closed for public holidays.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | - | - | - |
Hang Seng | 23,335.59 | 144.95 | 0.63 |
Jakarta Composite | 5,265.82 | 119.78 | 2.33 |
KLSE Composite | 1,652.99 | -8.40 | -0.51 |
Nikkei 225 | 16,405.01 | -209.23 | -1.26 |
Straits Times | 2,805.52 | -3.83 | -0.14 |
KOSPI Composite | - | - | - |
Taiwan Weighted | - | - | - |