Asian markets trade mostly lower in early deals on Thursday

22 Aug 2024 Evaluate
Most of the Asian markets traded lower in early deals on Thursday, as the weaker than expected July US payroll figures raised concerns that the US labor market might not withstand restrictive interest rates. The Bank of Korea downgraded its forecasts for this year's economic growth and inflation, raising expectations that the central bank might trim interest rates soon. The latest FOMC meeting pointed that some Fed officials favoured a plausible case for slashing borrowing costs. China’s Shanghai shrunk for third straight session, amidst intensified Sino-EU trade tensions. As per reports, Beijing launched an anti-subsidy probe into dairy imports from the bloc. Market sentiments also dulled after news that Chinese stock exchanges stopped a real-time data feed on foreign inflows into onshore equities from Monday, amid persistent outflows.

Straits Times down by 11.88 points 0.35% to 3,361.88, Taiwan Weighted slipped by 118.75 points or 0.53% to 22,119.14, Jakarta Composite diminished by 31.07 points or 0.41% to 7,523.52, KOSPI Index narrowed by 0.85 points or 0.03% to 2,700.02, and Shanghai Composite curtailed by 1.02 points or 0.04% to 2,855.56.

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 up by 117.40 points 0.31% to 38,069.20, Hang Seng rose by 69.53 points 0.40% to 17,460.54, and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI lifted by 1.99 points or 0.12% to 1,637.31.

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