Asian stocks follow NY and close mostly lower after Fed minutes

Asian stocks closed mostly lower on Thursday (6), following New York stock markets, which dropped significantly yesterday after the Federal Reserve (Fed, the US central bank) signaled it could raise interest rates sooner than expected.

The Japanese Nikkei index led losses in Asia, down 2.88% in Tokyo, to 28,487.87 points, while the South Korean Kospi fell 1.13% in Seoul, to 2920.53 points, and the Taiex retreated 0.71% in Taiwan, at 18,367.92 points.

In mainland China, the day was one of modest devaluation: the Shanghai Composite dropped 0.25%, to 3,586.08 points, and the less comprehensive Shenzhen Composite dropped 0.10%, to 2,481.33 points.

The exception was Hang Seng, which rose 0.72% in Hong Kong to 23,072.86 points amid a rally in technology stocks that had suffered heavy losses in the previous trading session.

The prevalence of risk aversion in Asia came after New York stocks fell by more than 3% yesterday in reaction to the latest Fed’s monetary policy minutes, in which the American BC suggests it could raise its interest rates sooner and at a faster pace. stronger than imagined, in the face of inflationary pressures.

The advance of China’s services PMI to 53.1 in December, pointing to more robust expansion in the sector despite concerns about covid-19, ended up taking a back seat.

In Oceania, the Sydney stock exchange felt the brunt of the Fed’s minutes, but was also affected by data showing that Australia registered more than 72,000 new cases of covid-19 in a single day, a record number, amid the spread of the variant Ômicron.

In its biggest tumble since September, the Australian S&P/ASX 200 index fell 2.74% today to 7,358.30 points.