Asian markets settled lower on Wednesday, tracking losses in Wall Street overnight due to caution ahead of the Fed's rate hike announcement due later in the day, while fears of a global recession also weighed on market sentiments. The Bank of England, the Swiss National Bank and the Bank of Japan will announce their monetary policy decisions on Thursday. Market sentiments were also hurt by Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement of a partial military mobilisation in Russia. Chinese shares slipped as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) cut its economic growth forecast for China to 3.3% for 2022 from the previous forecast of a 5.0% expansion, while ADB also cut its growth forecast for developing Asian economies to 4.3% this year from a previous projection of a 5.2% expansion amid the continued rise in inflation in the region.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,117.18 | -5.23 | -0.17 |
Hang Seng | 18,444.62 | -336.80 | -1.79 |
Jakarta Composite | 7,188.31 | -8.64 | -0.12 |
KLSE Composite | 1,447.18 | -13.92 | -0.95 |
Nikkei 225 | 27,313.13 | -375.29 | -1.36 |
Straits Times | 3,261.79 | -5.15 | -0.16 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,347.21 | -20.64 | -0.87 |
Taiwan Weighted | 14,424.52 | -124.78 | -0.86 |
