The Asian markets barring Nikkei 225 concluded Thursday’s trade in green, with Indonesia markets up on selective buying, but investors across the region were also largely on the defensive ahead of the US Federal Reserve chairman’s testimony on the Fed monetary policy plan. The rupiah fell after Bank Indonesia stated that the tender will stabilize after rallying this year, and with street expecting the trade balance swung to shortfall in January. Thailand’s anti-corruption agency brings charges of negligence against Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra as anti-government protesters demand her ouster in a standoff marred by violence that shows no sign of coming to an end. Fears about the street violence in downtown Bangkok this week and concerns over the political impact on the domestic economy have kept the market in a tight range.
China’s corporate debt has hit record levels and is likely to accelerate a wave of domestic restructuring and trigger more defaults, as credit repayment problems rise. For the fourth time in the past 10 days, the People’s Bank of China drained funds from the banking system, pushing the total amount of money withdrawn to 268 billion yuan ($442 billion).
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 2047.35 | 6.10 | 0.30 |
Hang Seng | 22828.18 | 390.74 | 1.74 |
Jakarta Composite | 4568.94 | 36.22 | 0.80 |
KLSE Composite | 1831.66 | 9.11 | 0.50 |
Nikkei 225 | 14923.11 | -47.86 | -0.32 |
Straits Times | 3096.74 | 8.49 | 0.27 |
KOSPI Composite | 1978.43 | 7.66 | 0.39 |
Taiwan Weighted | 8639.58 | 38.72 | 0.45 |