Investing.com - Asian equities were mixed on Thursday. Mainland Chinese markets played catch-up as they returned from their long holiday break while other markets traded lower as they priced in the possibility of a tighter Fed over time, following the release of the latest Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes that increased the risk of faster rate hike.
The Federal Reserve’s latest comment solidified expectations of interest rate hike ahead, as it showed increasing confidence that economic growth would pick up steam despite of concerns around inflation. Fed policy makers would next meet on 20 March.
The Dow closed 0.67% lower, while the S&P 500 fell 0.55% and the Nasdaq 0.22%.
Mainland Chinese markets were the outperformers today as they played catch-up after missing out on holiday rally. The Shanghai Composite gained 2.03% while the Shenzhen Component also jumped 2.02% by 1:30am ET. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.2%.
Japan’s Nikkei retreated following the U.S. stocks’ negative reaction to the Fed minutes. The yen gained some strength against the USD, with USD/JPY down 0.32% to 107.42.
Meanwhile, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.12% at the close, supported by banks and miners. BHP Billiton rebounded more than 1% after losing more almost 5% yesterday following a disappointing earnings report.
Elsewhere, the KOSPI was down 0.63% while the won also lost ground, quoted at 1,083.64 per dollar. Lotte Corp continued to receive some attention as the company said cooperation between Japanese and South Korean Lotte units would “inevitably” weaken following the sentencing of Shin Dong-bin.