Asia-Pacific markets drop on China interest rate speculation

After Thursday’s record-breaking day, equities markets in the Asia-Pacific region were lower on Friday on concerns that China will raise interest rates to try to moderate the economy there. The Shanghai composite saw the least of the declines as it dropped 0.17 percent to 5,903.26. Australia’s markets saw relatively moderate declines. The Sydney Ordinaries fell 0.29 percent to 6,760.1 while the S&P/ASX200 was 0.34 percent lower to 6,748.0. The Straits Times index was down 0.48 percent to 3,857.25 in Singapore, while in Hong Kong the Hang Seng was 1.01 percent lower to 28,838.37. South Korea’s Kospi index fell 1.57 percent to 2,026.44. In Taiwan, the Taiex was down 2.07 percent to 9.496.47, while the Sensex dropped 2.1 percent to 18,419.04 in India.

Tokyo’s markets joined the rest of Asia’s equities markets in declines. The Nikkei 225 was 0.73 percent lower to 17.331.17, while the Topix index dropped 1.08 percent to 1,659.48 and the Mothers market of small and mid-caps fell 0.04 percent to 881.49. Retailers, the electronics sector and semiconductor-related shares were all lower.

Markets were mixed in Europe. The Dax added 0.09 percent to 8,041.26 in Frankfurt, while Madrid’s IBEX jumped 1.07 percent to 15,261.3. On the other hand, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was 0.08 percent lower to 1,598.14 while the Paris CAC-40 dropped 0.32 percent to 5,843.95. There were gains in the aerospace, utilities, pharmaceuticals and banking sectors. On the other hand airlines, builders, and construction materials groups saw declines.

In London the FTSE 100 added 0.09 percent to 6,730.7, but the FTSE 250 dropped 0.4 percent to 11,576.3.
Some banks saw gains, as did the internet sector. The oil sector was mixed, while house builders were lower again.

Wall Street was higher at midday on new data from the Commerce and Labor departments. At mid-session the Dow Jones Industrial Average had added 0.41 percent to 14,073, while the Nasdaq Composite was 0.96 percent higher to 2,799.16 and the S&P 500 gained 0.41 percent to 1,560.86. Technology-related shares and carmakers saw gains, but there were declines among conglomerates and banks.

Story link: Asia-Pacific markets drop on China interest rate speculation