Asian stocks follow NY and close mixed, with US interest rate uncertainties

Stocks in Asia and the Pacific closed without a single direction on Friday (12), following the behavior of Wall Street on Thursday, as uncertainties about the trajectory of US interest rates persist, despite its recent inflation data. have come below expectations.

In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.15% to 3,276.89 points, and the less comprehensive Shenzhen Composite index was down 0.45% to 2,207.06 points, pressured by electronics and automotive stocks.

Elsewhere in the Asian region, Japan’s Nikkei rose 2.62% in Tokyo to 28,546.98 points, aided by papers from precision instrument makers and on the return of a national holiday, while the Hang Seng gained 0. 46% in Hong Kong, at 20,175.62 points, the South Korean Kospi showed a slight gain of 0.16% in Seoul, at 2,527.94 points, and the Taiex registered a rise of 0.60% in Taiwan, at 15,288, 97 points.

On Thursday, New York stock exchanges were also mixed, amid doubts about the Federal Reserve’s willingness to moderate its pace of interest rate hikes, although consumer inflation (CPI) and producer (PPI) in the country has been below expectations.

To combat inflationary pressures in the US, the Fed has already raised rates four times this year, including two hikes of 75 basis points, three times its normal rate of adjustment.

According to a tool from the CME Group, the US central bank is more inclined to take its foot off the accelerator and raise its interest rates by 50 basis points in September, but the chances of a new, more aggressive rise of 75 basis points are still reasonable.

In Oceania, the Australian stock exchange was in the red, with the S&P/ASX 200 down 0.54% in Sydney, at 7,032.50 points.