Asian markets exhibited mix trend on Thursday ahead of an impending European Central Bank (ECB) policy decision later in the day with new easing measures expected. Investors also looked ahead to the US Federal Reserve's two-day Federal Open Market Committee policy meeting next week, in which the central bank is expected to continue cutting interest rates. Chinese stocks edged higher as US President Donald Trump announced a short delay to scheduled tariff hikes on billions worth of Chinese goods in response to China's decision to exempt some US anti-cancer drugs and other goods from its tariffs. Moreover, Japanese Nikkei hit a four-month high as the yen continued to weaken amid signs of a thaw in trade tensions between the United States and China. Investors also welcomed data showing that core machine orders in Japan fell a seasonally adjusted 6.6 percent sequentially in July, beating street’s expectation for a fall of 8.1 percent following the 13.9 percent surge in June.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,031.24 | 22.43 | 0.75 |
Hang Seng | 27,087.63 | -71.43 | -0.26 |
Jakarta Composite | 6,342.17 | -39.78 | -0.62 |
KLSE Composite | 1,601.00 | -1.30 | -0.08 |
Nikkei 225 | 21,759.61 | 161.85 | 0.75 |
Straits Times | 3,194.96 | -9.56 | -0.30 |
KOSPI Composite | -- | -- | -- |
Taiwan Weighted | 10,827.55 | 37.20 | 0.34 |
