Stock indices of the largest countries in the Asia-Pacific region fall on Thursday following the US stock market.
Trading on stock exchanges in Australia on Thursday is not held in connection with the Day of Sorrow for Queen Elizabeth II.
Investors evaluate the results of the September meeting of the US Federal Reserve System (FRS). The American Central Bank raised the interest rate on federal funds (federal funds rate) by 75 basis points, now its range is 3-3.25% per annum. The decision coincided with the forecasts of most economists and analysts and was adopted unanimously by all 12 voting members of the FOMC.
Thus, the Fed raised the base rate by 75 bp. for the third meeting in a row. It is now at its highest level since the 2008 financial crisis. At the same time, based on Fed estimates, by the end of 2022 the rate will reach 4.4% per annum.
The Fed, along with many other central banks around the world, has been actively raising interest rates this year in order to slow down economic growth and curb inflation, beating multi-year records. Financial market participants, in turn, are worried that such actions could harm the growth of the global economy and provoke a recession.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan continues to stay away from the global wave of tightening monetary policy, despite increased inflation in the country. The regulator left unchanged the main parameters of monetary policy (MP) on the basis of the two-day meeting that ended on Thursday.
The short-term interest rate on deposits of commercial banks with the Central Bank was left at minus 0.1% per annum, the target yield on ten-year government bonds is near zero, the Japanese Central Bank said in a statement. The Bank of Japan also confirmed that it intends to keep the rate “at the current level or below.”
The value of the Japanese index Nikkei 225 by 8:15 Moscow time decreased by 0.6%.
The drop leader is shares of non-ferrous metal producer Toho Zinc Co. Ltd. (-2.95%), logistics Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. (-2.7%) and recruiting Recruit Holdings Co. Ltd. (-2%).
Papers of the software developer Oracle Corp. (SPB: ORCL) Japan fell 5% after the release of its first financial quarter. The company’s net profit decreased by 3.8% on the back of rising costs.
The Chinese Shanghai Composite index fell by 0.2% by 8:20 Moscow time, the Hong Kong Hang Seng lost 1.8%.
Leading decliners on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange include shares of PC maker Lenovo Group Ltd. (-4.8%), IT company Alibaba Group Holding (SPB: BABA) Ltd. (-3.2%), operator of the Hong Kong exchange Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. (-3%) and JD.com Inc. (SPB: JD) (-2.9%).
The South Korean index Kospi by 8:25 Moscow time fell by 1%.
Shares of one of the world’s largest manufacturers of chips and consumer electronics Samsung Electronics Co. fell by 1.6%, automaker Hyundai Motor – by 1.8%.
