TOKYO – Asian stocks were mixed on Monday as the US Federal Reserve announced it would put an end to emergency measures taken last year to help the financial industry deal with the pandemic.
NIkkei 225 NIK from Japan,
fell by 1.8% and the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index HSI,
by 0.2% lower. The Shanghai Composite SHCOMP,
achieved 0.9% and South Korea’s Kospi 180721,
by 0.1% higher. Australia’s S & P / ASX 200 XJO,
it has advanced 0.4%. Stocks slipped in Indonesia JAKIDX,
but obtained in Singapore STI,
in Taiwan Y9999,
In Tokyo, the largest stocks trade virtually across the board, including automakers such as Toyota Motor Corp 7203,
and Honda Motor Co. 7267,
whose earnings are boosted by a healthy U.S. economy.
‘Asian markets got off to a mixed start with the week with rising bond yields weighing on sentiment. The general impact of the rise in bond yields and the improvement in the economic recovery outlook could continue for the region until the end of March, ‘said Jingyi Pan, senior market strategist at IG in Singapore.
The move by the Fed last week will restore some of the capital requirements for large banks that were suspended in the early months of the viral outbreak to give banks flexibility. The banking industry hoped the measures would be expanded.
But most of the Fed’s policies aimed at supporting the recovery from the pandemic remain intact.
Concerns about the coronavirus pandemic remain in the region, where in some countries such as Japan and Thailand the vaccination of vaccines is progressing slowly compared to the US or Europe. Nevertheless, a “state of emergency” is being lifted in Japan in the Tokyo area,
Wall Street mostly closed lower last week, with all benchmarks in the red for the week. The S&P 500 SPX,
lost 0.1% to 3,913.10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA,
decreased by 0.7% to 32 627.97, lower drawn by financial companies. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite COMP,
increased by 0.8%, to 13,215.24.
As interest rates rose, more expensive stocks such as technology companies fell. The outlook for higher interest rates as bond yields rise is, according to some investors, worried that economic growth could slow down. There is also concern that the rise in bond yields could be a harbinger of inflation.
In energy trading, benchmark for the US crude CLJ21,
fell 46 cents to $ 60.96 a barrel. Brent ru-BRNK21,
the international standard lost 19 cents to $ 64.34 per barrel.
In currency trading, the US dollar USDJPY,
rose to 108.76 Japanese yen from 198.64 yen.