SINGAPORE – Asia-Pacific markets traded higher on Thursday as investors watch the market’s reaction to the latest Fed minutes.
of japan Nikkei 225 0.83% and Topix Index up 0.84%%.
in South Korea, kospi On Wednesday it advanced 1.04% after falling more than 2%, and Kosdaq climbed nearly 1%.
S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.2%. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.17%.
Federal Reserve officials acknowledged the policy had a “more restrictive stance”. The minutes of the meeting said that if inflation does not subside, even if it does slow the economy, it may be appropriate.
“Participants recognized that policy tightening could slow the pace of economic growth for some time, but they considered a return to inflation to 2 per cent on a sustained basis as key to achieving maximum employment,” the document said.
Fed officials also said a 50 or 75 basis point increase is likely at the July meeting.
A research note from ANZ said on Thursday that the Federal Open Market Committee is concerned about the uncontrolled inflation expectations.
“The Fed is eager for the public to understand that it’s got it, and is hiking the 75bp. [and signaling many more hikes to come] Definitely reinforces the message,” the note said.
On Wednesday, there was a slight increase in the US markets.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 69.86 points, or 0.23%, to 31,037.68. The S&P 500 rose 0.36% to 3,845.08 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.35% to 11,361.85.
In other news, Beijing said that starting next week, the city will require a vaccine for COVID-19 to enter crowded places such as cinemas and gyms. Markets in Mainland China fell on Wednesday as Covid concerns came into focus again.
currencies and oil
US Dollar IndexThe greenback, who tracks against a basket of his teammates, was at 107.058, which was rapidly consolidating.
Japanese yen traded at 135.96 per dollar, and Australian Dollar was at $0.6782.
US West Texas Intermediate Futures Asia fell 0.11% to $98.42 a barrel in morning trade after two consecutive days of decline. brent crude futures slipped 0.37% to $100.32 per barrel.
US crude benchmarks were down 1% on Wednesday after falling 8% on Tuesday. The international benchmark closed 2% at $100.69 during Wednesday’s session, down 2% after falling below the $100 level.