Asian markets settled down on Wednesday on persistent worries over global recession in the wake of aggressive monetary tightening in major economies, while concerns of Europe's energy crisis, United Kingdom’s tax cutting plans and hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials have also made investors nervous. Chicago Fed President Charles Evans, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard and Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari all said they need to keep raising interest rates to restore price stability. Seoul shares dropped as the Korean won hit a 13-year low. Chinese shares declined sharply as the yuan hit a record low, while Hong Kong shares plunged ahead of China's Communist Party Congress in October. Japanese shares fell as investors fretted about the inflationary impact of the yen's recent sharp moves.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,045.07 | -48.79 | -1.58 |
Hang Seng | 17,250.88 | -609.43 | -3.41 |
Jakarta Composite | 7,077.03 | -35.42 | -0.50 |
KLSE Composite | 1,401.89 | -8.98 | -0.64 |
Nikkei 225 | 26,173.98 | -397.89 | -1.50 |
Straits Times | 3,116.31 | -49.19 | -1.55 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,169.29 | -54.57 | -2.45 |
Taiwan Weighted | 13,466.07 | -360.52 | -2.61 |
