Asian stock markets mostly declined Friday on overnight Wall Street cues, and after a US Federal Reserve official said interest rate cuts may be off the table in 2024. Shanghai and Taiwan exchanges remained closed on holiday.
Hong Kong and Tokyo finished in the red, as did most other regional exchanges after Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said on Thursday that if US inflation continues above target, rate cuts could be forestalled until 2025.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened lower and declined in trading, finishing down 2% as a stronger yen undercut export issues. Mideast geopolitical tensions also capped trader sentiments.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 781.06 to 38,992.08, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 159 to 62.
Leading the upside was plumbing-fixtures maker Toto, up 2.4%, while utility Tokyo Electric Power declined 5.8%.
In economic news, Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said in an Asahi Shimbun newspaper interview that the central bank is likely to consider another interest rate hike between summer and autumn, especially if the yen is too weak.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened evenly, wobbled, and finished flat.
The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 1.18 to 16,723.92, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 53 to 22. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 0.3% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index fell 1.1%.
Leading the upside was Xinyi Solar, gaining 4.6%, while Alibaba Health Information Technologies declined 5.7%.
On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI fell 1%; the Australian ASX 200 declined 6%; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.5%, and the Thai Set inclined 0.1%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was flat.
In other news, the Reserve Bank of India left interest rates unchanged after a policy meeting, and forecast the nation’s economy would expand by 7% in the fiscal year started April 1, which would mark the fourth fiscal year in succession that India’s gross domestic product, or GDP, expanded by 7% or more annually.
