TOKYO – Asian equities mixed on Monday as sentiment was shaken by the US Federal Reserve’s announcement that it would end some emergency measures taken last year to help the financial industry cope to the pandemic.
The Japanese NIkkei 225 NIK,
fell by 1.8% and the Hong Kong HSI Hang Seng Index,
decreased 0.2% lower. The Shanghai Composite SHCOMP,
gained 0.9% and Kospi of South Korea 180721,
exceeded 0.1% more. S & P / ASX 200 XJO from Australia,
advanced 0.4%. Stocks fell in Indonesia JAKIDX,
but won in Singapore ITS,
in Taiwan Y9999,
In Tokyo trade, major stocks fell almost widely, including automakers such as Toyota Motor Corp. 7203,
and Honda Motor Co. 7267,
whose profits gain a boost from a healthy American economy.
“Asian markets had seen a mixed start to the week, with rising bond yields weighing again on sentiment. The view of the influence between rising bond yields and improving economic recovery prospects may continue to be for the region in late March, ”said Jingyi Pan, IG’s senior market strategist in Singapore.
The Fed’s move last week will restore some of the capital requirements for large banks that were suspended in the first months of the viral outbreak, in order to give banks flexibility. The banking sector expected these measures to be extended.
But most of the Fed’s policies aimed at supporting the pandemic recovery remain intact.
Concerns about the coronavirus pandemic remain in the region, where vaccine deployment in some nations such as Japan and Thailand is progressing slowly compared to the United States or Europe. However, a “state of emergency” is being raised in Japan this week in the Tokyo area.
Wall Street had closed almost down last week, and all benchmarks ended in red during the week. The S&P 500 SPX,
it lost 0.1% to 3,913.10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA,
fell 0.7% to 32,627.97, attracted by financial companies. The Nasdaq Composite COMP, very heavy in technology,
increased by 0.8% to 13,215.24.
As interest rates have risen, more expensive stocks such as technology companies have fallen. The prospect of higher interest rates as bond yields rise makes some investors worried that economic growth may slow. He also worries that rising bond yields could be a harbinger of inflation.
In the energy trade, the crude US reference CLJ21,
it dropped 46 cents to $ 60.96 a barrel. Brent cru BRNK21,
the international standard lost 19 cents to $ 64.34 a barrel.
In foreign exchange trading, the US dollar USDJPY,
in inches to 108.76 yen from 198.64 yen.