The Asian markets closed in red on Wednesday after hawkish comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell triggered speculation that the Fed might hike rates four times this year instead of the expected three. Chinese shares ended lower as official data showed the manufacturing PMI for February hit a 19-month low. The manufacturing PMI came in at 50.3, missing forecasts for 51.1 and down from 51.3 in January. The non-manufacturing PMI slowed to 54.4 versus forecasts for 55.0 and down from 55.3 in the previous month. Further, Japanese shares fell as the Bank of Japan's decision to trim purchases of super long government bonds helped to lift the yen and a slew of data releases disappointed investors. Japan's industrial production fell at a faster rate than forecast in January and retail sales dropped 1.8 percent month-on-month, while housing starts logged a double-digit decline at the start of the year, separate reports showed. Meanwhile, the markets in Taiwan remained closed for Peace Memorial Day.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,259.41 | -32.66 | -0.99 |
Hang Seng | 30,844.72 | -423.94 | -1.36 |
Jakarta Composite | 6,597.22 | -1.71 | -0.03 |
KLSE Composite | 1,856.20 | -15.26 | -0.82 |
Nikkei 225 | 22,068.24 | -321.62 | -1.44 |
Straits Times | 3,517.94 | -22.45 | -0.63 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,427.36 | -28.78 | -1.17 |
Taiwan Weighted | - | - | - |
