Asian Market
Markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed Thursday as investors digested the Federal Reserve‘s meeting minutes, which showed that Fed members plan to fight inflation with rate hikes.
The Korean Stock Market Was Also Affected
The Bank of Korea left interest rates at 3.5% for the first time after almost a year of rate hikes in line with expectations. After the decision, South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.1 percent, while Samsung Electronics gained 1.8 percent.
Japanese markets remain closed Thursday for the emperor’s birthday.
Decline Continues In Australia
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.28 percent. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index rose 0.4 percent and the Hang Seng Tech rose 0.37 percent.
In mainland China, the Shenzhen Composite fell slightly, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.25 percent.
While consumer price indexes from Hong Kong and Singapore were expected to be announced, Singapore’s consumer price index for January was announced at 7.1 percent.
U.S. markets closed lower on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 in particular closing with losses for the fourth consecutive day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average also closed lower, while the Nasdaq Composite reversed its trend and closed up 0.13 percent.