Asian equity markets ended in green on Thursday after minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting indicated another rate hike is likely in June, but is conditional on recent economic softness proving transitory. The Fed also indicated that its balance sheet would be trimmed. Meanwhile, Japanese stocks rose as the strong-yen trend paused, while a surge in index-heavyweights such as SoftBank supported sentiment. But gains were limited as the dollar-yen stayed in a narrow range after the US Federal Reserve dialed down on some of the more hawkish policy expectations in the market. Chinese stocks rose for the second straight session, a day after Moody's downgraded the credit rating of the world's second largest economy. Hong Kong shares ended higher even after Moody's downgraded Hong Kong's local and foreign currency issuer ratings shortly after cutting China's ratings on Wednesday. The markets in Indonesia are closed for the Ascension Day holiday.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,107.83 | 43.76 | 1.43 |
Hang Seng | 25,630.78 | 202.28 | 0.8 |
Jakarta Composite | - | - | - |
KLSE Composite | 1,773.96 | 2.95 | 0.17 |
Nikkei 225 | 19,813.13 | 70.15 | 0.36 |
Straits Times | 3,234.37 | 3.13 | 0.10 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,342.93 | 25.59 | 1.1 |
Taiwan Weighted | 10,108.49 | 64.07 | 0.64 |