Asian markets ended mixed on Monday after Federal Chairman Jerome Powell opened the door to a rate-cut at the Fed’s March 17-18 meeting by issuing a rare statement Friday pledging to ‘act as appropriate’ to support the economy. Japanese shares ended higher after the Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda pledged that the central bank will make every effort to ensure stability in financial markets that have been roiled as the new corona virus spreads worldwide. Issuing an emergency statement, BoJ Governor also said the central bank will monitor the developments carefully and offer sufficient liquidity via market operations and asset purchases. Investors shrugged off survey data from IHS Markit showing that Japan's manufacturing sector contracted at the fastest pace since 2016. Further, Chinese shares ended up despite manufacturing PMI data released over the weekend coming in well below expectations. The Markit/ Caixin manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) dropped to 40.3 in February, falling well below expectations of a reading of 45.7. The official PMI dropped to 35.7 in the month - the lowest level on record.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 2,970.93 | 90.63 | 3.15 |
Hang Seng | 26,291.68 | 161.75 | 0.62 |
Jakarta Composite | 5,361.25 | -91.45 | -1.68 |
KLSE Composite | 1,466.94 | -15.70 | -1.06 |
Nikkei 225 | 21,344.08 | 201.12 | 0.95 |
Straits Times | 3,007.72 | -3.36 | -0.11 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,002.51 | 15.50 | 0.78 |
Taiwan Weighted | 11,170.46 | -121.71 | -1.08 |
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