Asian markets ended mostly higher on Thursday after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, as widely expected, and signaled it would keep them on hold through 2020 amid a solid economy, sticking to the sidelines during an election year. Meanwhile, investors traded cautiously ahead of a Trump's tariff decision and the closely watched British election, with polls predicting a narrow Conservative win. Japanese shares ended almost flat as a deadline for an additional round of US tariffs on Chinese imports loomed and machinery orders data disappointed. Data showed that the total value of core machine orders in Japan was down a seasonally adjusted 6.0 percent sequentially in October, missed forecasts for an increase of 0.7 percent following the 2.9 percent decline in September. On a yearly basis, core machine orders sank 6.1 percent, again missing expectations for a drop of 1.9 percent following the 5.1 percent jump in the previous month.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 2,915.70 | -8.72 | -0.30 |
Hang Seng | 26,994.14 | 348.71 | 1.31 |
Jakarta Composite | 6,139.40 | -40.70 | -0.66 |
KLSE Composite | 1,569.82 | 6.63 | 0.42 |
Nikkei 225 | 23,424.81 | 32.95 | 0.14 |
Straits Times | 3,194.67 | 21.77 | 0.69 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,137.35 | 31.73 | 1.51 |
Taiwan Weighted | 11,836.42 | 135.65 | 1.16 |
