Employees work at the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), operated by Japan Exchange Group, Inc. (JPX), in Tokyo, Thursday, January 13, 2022.
Toru Hanai | Bloomberg via Getty Images
Asia-Pacific stock markets were mostly lower on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve opted to leave interest rates on hold at the end of its two-day meeting.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell ruled out raising interest rates, allaying concerns that the central bank is unlikely to be able to rein in inflation.
The focus is on JPYIt was a volatile start to the week amid suspicions of government intervention to prop up the currency on Monday. The last trade was 156.26 against the US dollar.
Japanese Nikkei Stock Average fell by 0.36%, and the comprehensive TOPIX fell by 0.23%.
Korean Kospi fell 0.20%, while the small-cap Kosdaq was flat. Investors analyzed South Korea’s consumer price data and found that the rise in April was slower than in March.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.1%. Mainland Chinese markets remained closed due to the Labor Day holiday.
Australia’S&P/ASX 200 It bucked this trend, rising 0.2%.
Wall Street stock indexes closed mixed after Wednesday’s Fed meeting.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 87.37 points, or 0.23%. The S&P 500 fell 0.34% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.33%.
— CNBC’s Samantha Soobin and Ha-Kyung Kim contributed to this report.
