Asia stocks slump after Fed; Nikkei dips 0.4%
Investing.com
Published Dec 14, 2011 02:49AM ET
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped 0.25%, Australia’s S&P/ASX200 dipped 0.15%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index fell 0.4%.
At its latest monetary policy meeting, the Fed said that the U.S. economy “has been expanding moderately,” despite slowing in global growth.
The central bank made no changes to interest rates or its bond-purchase program, disappointing investors that were hoping for indications of a fresh round of asset purchases.
Shares in Japanese lenders traded lower, with the nation’s largest bank Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group falling 1.5%, while investment bank Nomura Holdings declined 1.1%.
Japanese exporters came under selling pressure after official data on Tuesday showed that retail sales in the U.S. rose by 0.2%, the slowest pace in five months.
Consumer electronics giant Sony saw shares drop 1.5%, Toshiba fell 1.15%, while shares in Honda traded down 2.2%.
Elsewhere, in Hong Kong, shares in property developers continued their recent run of losses after China’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development said earlier that it would maintain price curbs on real estate.
Sun Hung Kai Properties saw shares fall 1.1%, Sino Land Company slumped 0.9%, while property investment firm Evergrande Real Estate Group tumbled 3.3%.
Raw material producers also contributed to losses, tracking commodity prices lower. Copper producer Jiangxi Copper Company fell 1%, shares in gold producer Zijin Mining dropped 3.4%, while oil giant CNOOC declined 0.9%.
Meanwhile, the outlook for European stock markets was downbeat ahead of a closely-watched auction of Italian government debt later in the day.
The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a loss of 0.55%, France’s CAC 40 futures shed 0.5%, the FTSE 100 futures declined 0.55%, while Germany's DAX futures indicated a drop 0.55%.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to release official data on industrial production.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Investing.com
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.