Market Update
Asian markets declined Thursday tracking losses on Wall Street overnight after U.S. Fed Chairperson Janet Yellen suggested a rate hike could come as early as spring next year.
The Nikkei was down 1.4%. The Shanghai Composite lost 1.4% while the Hang Seng fell 1.8%. The Sensex slipped 0.4% while the All Ordinaries traded 1.1% lower.
The Fed said Wednesday at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting that its key rate would be near 1 percent possible in the first half of the next year, and 2.25 percent a year later. This was Yellen’s first policy meeting since she replaced Ben Bernanke.
In Asia, the Chinese yuan fell to a one-year low after China’s apex bank weakened the currency’s reference rate. In other news, the Shanghai Stock Exchange eased restrictions on overseas investors, allowing them to collectively own up to 30% in a single company, up from 20% currently.
Stocks on the Move
Sony was up 1.5%, bucking the downward trend in the region.
Panasonic and Olympus fell around 5% each while Sharp was 5.4% lower. Toshiba was down 1.4%.
Automakers were all in reverse gear with bellwether Toyota down 1.5% and Nissan about a percent lower.
In Hong Kong, Tencent Holdings was down 1.7% after reporting results Wednesday. China Mobile and PetroChina were down 3.6% and 0.9% respectively, ahead of their result announcements due slightly later in the day.
GAIL India was the top loser in Mumbai, down 2.6%. BHEL lost 2.4%, L&T erased 2.2% and HDFC retreated 2.2%.
Gold stocks were lower in Sydney with Newcrest down 7.9% and Perseus Mining 7.7% lower. Index major BHP Billiton sank 1.8%.