Asian Shares Mixed Following Less Than Positive Fed Reports

HONG KONG, H.K. – Shares in the Asian stock market were mixed on Thursday’s trading session following the Federal Reserve’s announcement overnight that there will be no rate increase in 2020.

Most gains in Asian stocks were the 0.14% increase of Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, closing at 23,424.81, as well as the modest increase for the Topix index during the session to end the day at 1,712.83. The Kospi index in South Korea also closed higher during the Asian session, recording a 1.51% increase towards 2,137.35, following the share increase for heavyweights in the industry, SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, with 2.5% advance for each.

The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong also recorded around 1.35% increase during the final hour of the trading session. The boost in the market followed the surge in shares for the Chinese tech behemoth, which recorded a 3.06% increase for the day. The AIA life insurer also tracked around 2.13% gains for the day as well.

On the other hand, Chinese shares were trading lower on Thursday, with the Shanghai Composite index shedding around 0.3% for the day towards 2,915.70. The Shenzhen Component also dropped by around 0.17% towards 9,836.23, while the Shenzhen Composite is trading around 0.193% towards 1,636.33.

For Thursday, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index was trading at 0.96% advance.

The mixed sentiments in the Asian stock market came after the Federal Reserve’s statement that it is leaving the interest rates as is, at least until 2020. The decision of the Central Bank was largely anticipated after it has already cut the benchmark interest rate three times.

Meanwhile, market players are still waiting on more updates on the trade talks between the US and China ahead of the scheduled tariff increase on almost $160 billion worth of Chinese goods on December 15.

On the other hand, shares stateside were pointing to a slightly higher open after the Fed’s decision to leave the interest rates unchanged. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was looking towards a more optimistic trading session, recording a 29.58 points increase towards 27,911.30, while the S&P 500 advanced by around 0.3% towards 3,141.63. The Nasdaq Composite also added 0.4% towards 8,654.05.

In the currencies front, the Japanese yen was trading at 108.61 on Thursday against the US dollar, while the Australian dollar recorded a modest high towards $0.6882 against the US dollar from the $0.681 value from the previous session.

Oil prices also advanced during the afternoon session in Asia, with the US crude future up by 0.2% and the international benchmark Brent crude oil futures advanced by 0.4% for the day