Asia markets mixed as Europe, US declines

Asia-Pacific region equities markets were mixed on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve cut US interest rates on Wednesday. In Hong Kong the Hang Seng added 0.45 percent to 31,492.88 after the Hong Kong Monetary Authority cut the overnight rate there by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.5 percent, following the Fed’s move. Australian markets were also higher and the Sydney Ordinaries and the S&P/ASX200 each were up by 1.1 percent, to 6,853.6 and 6,828.7 respectively. The ASX’s gain took that index to a record high.

Decliners on the day included the Straits Times index in Singapore, which fell 0.06 percent to 3,803.56, and South Korea’s Kospi index, down 0.08 percent to 2,063.14. In India the Sensex dropped 0.57 percent to 19,724.35. The Shanghai Composite was down 0.68 percent to 5,914.28 and Taiwan’s Taiex was 1.17 percent lower to 9,498.23.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.79 percent to 16,870.4 and the Topix index added 0.97 percent to 1,635.78, but the Mothers market was down again by 1.42 percent to 930.65. Exporters, including the electronics sector, camera makers and the automobile manufacturing sector were higher. Traders were also higher, but some fast food chains and the semiconductors sectors were lower on the session.

Europe’s markets saw declines as banks were lower. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 1.55 percent to 1,570.92. The IBEX was down 0.82 percent to 15,759.6 while the Dax dropped 1.73 percent to 7,880.85 and the CAC-40 fell 2 percent to 5,730.92. Banks were lower as some received broker downgrades. The steel sector was also lower. Truck manufacturers and stock exchange operators saw gains.

Banks were also lower in London, where the FTSE 100 dropped 2.02 percent to 6,586.1 and the FTSE 250 fell 1.2 percent to 11,526.3. Banks were also big losers in London. Insurers were also lower, while insurers and miners saw mixed results. The best results on the 100 came in the consumer goods sector.

Wall Street was lower in mid-afternoon trade on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.57 percent to 13,711.83, while the Nasdaq Composite had dropped 1.11 percent and the S&P 500 was 1.38 percent lower to 1,527.93 as investors worried about future interest rate moves by the Federal Reserve and considered new data on consumer spending, employment and manufacturing. Banks declined on broker downgrades and the oil sector was lower on quarterly results.

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