Asian markets ended mixed on Thursday, tracking an overnight mostly fall in Wall Street following hawkish comments from the Federal Reserve officials on further interest-rate hikes in the United States. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said he is open-minded on either a 25-basis point or a 50-basis point interest rate hike in March, while Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said monetary policy will have to remain tight until well into 2024. Chinese and Hong Kong shares declined, despite unexpectedly upbeat readings from China PMI surveys. Japanese shares finished down, despite fading expectations of an imminent hawkish turn by the Japanese central bank.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,310.65 | -1.70 | -0.05 |
Hang Seng | 20,429.46 | -190.25 | -0.93 |
Jakarta Composite | 6,857.42 | 12.48 | 0.18 |
KLSE Composite | 1,455.49 | 5.29 | 0.36 |
Nikkei 225 | 27,498.87 | -17.66 | -0.06 |
Straits Times | 3,234.90 | -20.18 | -0.62 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,427.85 | 15.00 | 0.62 |
Taiwan Weighted | 15,598.72 | 0.23 | -- |
