Asia markets dip as Dow touches new closing low; BOJ decision on deck
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday, October 31, 2024. The Bank of Japan left its benchmark interest rate unchanged.
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Asia-Pacific markets fell on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average hitting a new closing low for the year as losses on Wall Street hit.
While Fed Chairman Jerome Powell diluted interest rate cut expectations by saying that inflation did not fall as much as he “hoped”, the Fed kept its policy rate constant between 3.5% and 3.75%.
The producer price index, which tracks changes in wholesale prices, rose 0.7% in February, well above the 0.3% predicted by economists participating in the Dow Jones survey.
Despite this, the US central bank’s “dot plot” still predicts a cut in 2026 and 2027, although the timing is unclear.
The Iran war continues to raise energy concerns. International benchmark Brent crude futures settled at $107.38 per barrel, up 3.83%.
US oil prices were also trading at higher levels; West Texas Intermediate futures closed marginally higher at $96.32 per barrel.
Investors in Asia will be looking at the Bank of Japan’s decision, which is expected to keep interest rates at 0.75%.
South Korea’s kospi It led losses in Asia, losing 2.56%, after being the region’s top gainer on Wednesday, while smaller-cap Kosdaq saw a smaller loss of 1.73%.
Chip heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix saw losses of more than 3%.
of japan Nikkei 225 It fell 2.47%, while the broad-based Topix fell 1.82%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index started the day with a 1.5% loss.
Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures settled at 25,479, below the HSI’s last close of 26,025.42.
Overnight in the US, the 30-stock Dow index lost 1.63 percent to close at 46,225.15, reaching a new low this year. The index also closed below the 200-day moving average.
The S&P 500 fell 1.36% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.46%.
—CNBC’s Sean Conlon, Pia Singh and Jeff Cox contributed to this report.
