- Asian stocks are lacking consensus a day after the Fed pushed back rate cut expectations.
- The anti-risk Japanese yen is on the defensive, while other majors are flatlined in Asia.
Stocks in Asia are trading mixed this Thursday morning with some regional indices reporting gains despite the Fed pushing back market expectations that the central bank’s next move would be a rate cut.
At press time, the Shanghai Composite is reporting a 0.52% gain and stocks in Hong Kong and South Korea are up at least 0.4 %. Shares in New Zealand are struggling for direction while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 is down 0.61%.
The S&P 500 posted its biggest decline in almost six weeks and the 10-year treasury yield rose by 5 basis points, sending the US Dollar higher across the board on Wednesday after the Fed’s Powell said the central bank has no bias to either tighten or ease policy, adding further that the low inflation is due to transitory factors.
The not so dovish Fed and the resulting drop in the US stocks could be capping upside in the Asian equities.
In the FX markets, the Japanese Yen is on the slippery floors, possibly tracking the rise in the treasury yields post-Fed. Both the shared currency and the British Pound are flatlined, while the Aussie dollar is up 0.16%.