Stock markets: Asian stocks mixed after Fed announced readiness to act on inflation
BEIJING –
Asian stock markets were mixed on Thursday after Federal Reserve officials said they are ready to raise interest rates sooner than expected if needed to cool inflation.
Shanghai and Seoul fell while Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney rose.
Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index was up 0.2% ahead of the US holiday close. They reopen Friday for a shortened trading session.
Fed officials at their October policy meeting said they “will not hesitate” to respond to inflation, according to the note released Wednesday. They foresaw the possibility of a rate increase “earlier than participants currently anticipate.”
That has investors worried the Fed and other central banks may feel pressure to pull back on the economic stimulus measures that are boosting stock prices. Fed officials earlier said they could raise rates by the end of next year.
In a report, Mizuho Bank’s Tan Boon Heng said that the attitude at the next Fed meeting could be “clearly more hawkish”.
The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.1% to 3,589.18 while the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gained 0.7% to 29,515.72. Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 0.1% to 24,714.83.
The Seoul kospi lost 0.4 percent to 2,981.12 after South Korea’s central bank raised its policy rate by 0.25 percentage points to 1% above expectations.
Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 was 0.1% higher at 7,403.60 and India’s Sensex opened less than 0.1% lower at 58,337.48. New Zealand and Jakarta rose while Singapore fell. Bangkok is unchanged.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose to 4,701.46. Returns from technology, real estate and energy stocks outperformed the slippage of banks and materials companies.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell less than 0.1% to 35,804.38. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.4 percent to 15,845.23.
The Fed notes showed that officials still believe this year’s spike in inflation may be temporary, but that prices have risen more than expected.
The notes refer to the October meeting at which Fed board members voted to take the first steps towards easy credit recovery and other measures to support the economic recovery. from the coronavirus pandemic.
A wide range of industries have been affected by inflationary pressures and disruptions in the supply of raw materials and components. Forecasters fear consumers could cut back on spending if retail prices continue to rise.
Consumer spending rose 1.3% in October, slightly higher than the previous month’s gain, according to the Commerce Department.
The Labor Department reported the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits last week fell to its lowest level in more than half a century.
In the energy market, the price of benchmark US crude oil lost 9 cents to $78.30 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oil, rose 2 cents to $81.07 a barrel in London.
The dollar fell to 115.37 yen from 115.48 yen. The euro rose to $1.1217 from $1.1199.