Stock indices of the largest countries in the Asia-Pacific region ended trading on Monday with a fall on expectations of further tightening of monetary policy in the world.
Investors this week will follow the meetings of a number of central banks in the world. The US Federal Reserve System (FRS) will announce the rate change decision on Wednesday, the Bank of Japan and the Bank of England – on Thursday. Most experts believe that the US and British regulators will once again raise key rates to combat inflation that has been beating many years of records.
In addition, it is expected that meetings of the central banks of Switzerland, Sweden, Turkey and China will take place. The People’s Bank of China will announce the rate on loans to first class borrowers (LPR) for one year and five years on Tuesday.
At the same time, trades in the Asia-Pacific region were inactive on Monday. Stock exchanges in Japan are closed due to the country’s celebration of Honoring the Elderly Day.
China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.35%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 1%.
The shares of pharmaceutical companies Sino Biopharmaceutical Ltd. fell most significantly on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. (-6.9%) and Wuxi Biologics (Cayman) Inc. (-5%), development Longfor Group Holdings Ltd. (-6%) and Country Garden Holdings Co. Ltd. (-3%), as well as IT companies Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (-3.5%) and Netease Inc. (-3.6%).
Construction Paper China Vanke Co. Ltd. lost 1.2% in price. A division of the company – Onewo Inc. plans to list in Hong Kong and raise 6.15 billion Hong Kong dollars ($783.5 million).
The value of the South Korean index Kospi decreased by 1.1%.
Shares of one of the world’s largest manufacturers of consumer electronics LG Electronics Inc. shed 0.2%, while rival Samsung Electronics Co. rose by 0.3%. Capitalization of automaker Kia Corp. falls by 0.4%.
The Australian S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3%.
The market value of the world’s largest mining company BHP fell by 0.6%. Oil companies Woodside Energy and Santos lost 1% and 0.8%.
