Asian Markets Gain as Traders Digest Fed Minutes
Published Feb 20, 2019 09:44PM ET
Investing.com - Asian equities traded higher in morning trade on Thursday as investors digested the minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s January meeting.
China’s Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Component were up 0.4% and 0.8% respectively. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.7%. Computer maker Lenovo Group (HK:0992) surged about 6% in morning trade after the company announced a return to profit in the third quarter, surpassing market expectations.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.4% even after official data showed the country’s Flash Markit/Nikkei Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell to a seasonally adjusted 48.5 in February from a final 50.3 in January, the first contraction since August 2016.
Elsewhere, South Korea’s KOSPI slipped 0.1%. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KS:005930) made headlines after the company unveiled its new series of Galaxy smartphones that includes the first consumer-ready foldable mobile phone “Galaxy Fold.”
Down under, Australia’s ASX 200 traded 0.7% higher. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Thursday that a total of 39,100 net new jobs were created in January, beating the market forecasts for a 15,200.
Overnight, U.S. markets closed mostly higher following the release of minutes from the Fed's January meeting.
The central bank highlighted downside risks, including "the possibilities of a sharper-than-expected slowdown in global economic growth, particularly in China and Europe, a rapid waning of fiscal policy stimulus, or a further tightening of financial market conditions."
The Fed also saw balance sheet reduction ending, citing “risks and uncertainties.”
"Almost all participants thought that it would be desirable to announce before too long a plan to stop reducing the Federal Reserve's asset holdings later this year. Such an announcement would provide more certainty about the process for completing the normalisation of the size of the Federal Reserve's balance sheet," the document said.
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.