Asian equity markets ended mostly lower on Friday after North Korea threatened it could consider testing a nuclear weapon in the Pacific. Investors also digested the prospect of an additional rate hike from the Fed this year. Japan’s Nikkei share average slipped from a two-year high after North Korea threatened to test a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific Ocean, ratcheting up tensions with the United States and its allies. Meanwhile, Chinese stocks ended off their day's lows amid expectations that Beijing will maintain stability in markets ahead of next month's meeting of the Chinese Communist Party's National Congress. Hong Kong stocks posted their worst decline in a month, erasing much of the week’s gains, as investors trimmed positions following S&P’s downgrade of China’s sovereign credit rating and North Korea’s nuclear threats. The US Federal Reserve’s plan to shrink its balance sheet and later raise interest rates also dented sentiment. The markets in Malaysia remained closed for the Islamic New Year.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,352.53 | -5.28 | -0.16 |
Hang Seng | 27,880.53 | -229.8 | -0.82 |
Jakarta Composite | 5,911.71 | 5.13 | 0.09 |
KLSE Composite | - | - | - |
Nikkei 225 | 20,296.45 | -51.03 | -0.25 |
Straits Times | 3,220.25 | 6.43 | 0.20 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,388.71 | -17.79 | -0.74 |
Taiwan Weighted | 10,449.68 | -128.76 | -1.22 |