Asian markets settled mostly down on Thursday. Japanese shares declined as the yen rallied sharply after the Bank of Japan raised interest rates to a 15-year high on Wednesday, ended its eight-year stretch of negative rates. A strong yen hurts the profit outlook for Japanese export heavy industries. Chinese and Hong Kong shares dropped after data showed that the China Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to 49.8 last month from 51.8 in June. Meanwhile, US Fed Chair Jerome Powell's dovish outlook after its overnight decision to leave interest rates unchanged failed to boost market sentiment.
| Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
| Shanghai Composite | 2,932.39 | -6.36 | -0.22 |
| Hang Seng | 17,304.96 | -39.64 | -0.23 |
| Jakarta Composite | 7,325.98 | 70.22 | 0.97 |
| KLSE Composite | 1,624.25 | -1.32 | -0.08 |
| Nikkei 225 | 38,126.33 | -975.49 | -2.56 |
| Straits Times | 3,419.84 | -36.10 | -1.06 |
| KOSPI Composite | 2,777.68 | 6.99 | 0.25 |
| Taiwan Weighted | 22,642.10 | 442.75 | 1.96 |
