10/11/2023 – 6:05
By Sergio Caldas*
São Paulo, 11/10/2023 – Stock markets in Asia and the Pacific closed broadly lower this Friday, influenced by renewed fears that US base interest rates may need to rise further.
Leading the losses in the Asian region, the Hang Seng index fell 1.76% in Hong Kong, to 17,203.26 points, while the South Korean Kospi fell 0.72% in Seoul, to 2,409.66 points, the Japanese Nikkei gave way 0.24% in Tokyo, at 32,568.11 points, and Taiex registered a loss of 0.38% in Taiwan, at 16,682.67 points.
The tone was equally negative in business in mainland China: the Shanghai Composite fell 0.47%, to 3,038.97 points, and the less comprehensive Shenzhen Composite showed a similar drop, of 0.42%, to 1,903.80 points.
Yesterday, the president of the Federal Reserve (Fed, the US central bank), Jerome Powell, suggested that the Fed may have to raise interest rates again, given the strength shown by the American economy. Until then, the prevailing view was that the American Central Bank had ended its monetary tightening cycle, after leaving basic rates unchanged in its last two meetings.
Powell’s comments sent down New York stock exchanges yesterday and boosted Treasury interest rates.
In Oceania, the Australian market was also in the red today, following Asia and Wall Street. The S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.55% in Sydney, to 6,976.50 points.
Contact: [email protected]
*With information from Dow Jones Newswires
#Asian #stock #markets #close #Powell #talks #interest #rate #hike