Asian markets trade mostly lower on Fed stimulus fears

21 Feb 2013 Evaluate

All the Asian markets, barring Jakarta Composite, were trading lower on Thursday’s morning deals following an overnight tumble on Wall Street as traders grew concerned that the US Federal Reserve could bring an early end to its huge stimulus programme. Minutes from the Fed's most recent policy board meeting showed some members were in favour of cutting short the $85 billion-a-month bond-buying introduced last year to support the economy and which has helped lift global shares. Back on regional turf, Japanese Nikkei declined by over a percent in early deals as exporters and construction equipment makers dropped, tugging the market slightly below a 52-month high tapped the previous day.

Shanghai Composite tumbled 65.57 points or 2.74% to 2,331.61, Hang Seng declined 409.78 points or 1.76% to 22,897.63, KLSE Composite dipped 8.73 points or 0.54% to 1,604.60, Nikkei 225 dropped 150.67 points or 1.31% to 11,317.61, Straits Times contracted 18.28 points or 0.55% to 3,290.61, KOSPI Composite decreased 10.98 points or 0.54% to 2,013.66 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 65.26 points or 0.81% to 7,963.84.

On the flip side, Jakarta Composite was up by 6.84 points or 0.15% to 4,641.29.

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