SINGAPORE – Asia Pacific stocks were largely lower in trading Thursday morning as investors waited for market reaction after the US Federal Reserve extended its rate hike schedule on Wednesday.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 1.11% in morning trading while the Topix index was down 0.62%. South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.65%.
Mainland stocks were mixed as the Shanghai composite lost about 0.1% while the Shenzhen stake rose 0.283%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.61%.
The S & P / ASX 200 in Australia lost 0.48%. Employment in Australia rose by 115,000 people from April to May, the country’s statistical office said on Thursday. That was far more than a 30,000 increase in employment expected by analysts in a Reuters poll.
MSCI’s broadest index for Asia Pacific stocks outside of Japan was trading 0.77% lower.
Trading with Next Digital discontinued
Trading in Next Digital shares in Hong Kong was suspended on Thursday, according to a stock exchange announcement.
It came after the Apple Daily published by Next Digital reported Thursday that five of its directors – including the publication’s editor-in-chief and CEO – were arrested by police in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong police had previously said they had arrested five directors of an unnamed company for “colliding with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security.”
Fed puts forward rate hike schedule
The Fed brought forward the timeframe for the next rate hike on Wednesday, with the so-called dot plot of the expectations of individual members pointing to two rate hikes in 2023.
The Fed’s new dot plot, indicating that the average FOMC member is now forecasting two Fed rate hikes in 2023, compared to none in the March iteration, represented the restrictive surprise of the June Fed meeting “Said Ray Attrill, head of foreign exchange strategy at National Australia Bank, wrote in a note.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 265.66 points to 34,033.67 overnight while the S&P 500 fell 0.54% to 4,223.70. The Nasdaq Composite lost 0.24% to 14,039.68.
Currencies and oil
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback versus a basket of its competitors, stood at 91.37, compared to levels below 90.5 earlier this week.
The Japanese yen was trading at 110.64 per dollar after recently weakening sharply below 110 against the greenback. The Australian dollar changed hands at $ 0.7631, below the over $ 0.77 levels it hit earlier this week.
Oil prices were lower on the morning of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures falling 0.95% to $ 73.68 a barrel. US crude oil futures slipped 0.93% to $ 71.48 a barrel.
