Investing.com - Asian equities were mostly lower in afternoon trade on Thursday following the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to raise rates. Global trade tensions continued to weigh as U.S. president Trump is reportedly set to announce tariffs on more than 100 different types of Chinese goods over intellectual-property violations later in the day.
The dollar extended Wednesday’s losses after the Federal Reserve officials raised the benchmark rate a quarter-point and did not suggest it was leaning towards a total of four rate hikes this year as some had expected.
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) remained in focus as CEO Mark Zuckerberg broke his silence on the data leak crisis, saying that he is open to some form of regulation, and that he is “happy to testify if it is the right thing”. Zuckerberg then added that he would inform any users whose data might be affected and would do a full forensic audit.
Overnight, the S&P 500 and the Dow both slipped 0.2%, while the Nasdaq fell 0.3%.
Japan’s Nikkei outperformed its regional peers and closed 0.8% higher. The Japanese market was closed on Wednesday for the Vernal Equinox. The country’s manufacturing activity expanded at a slower pace at 53.2 on a seasonally adjusted basis in March as growth in new orders and output eased, compared to 54.1 in February.
In China, the Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Component fell 0.5% and 0.3% at 1:58AM ET (05:58 GMT) respectively. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) raised its own short-term market interest rates Thursday morning in Asia, following the US Fed’s move. The PBOC raised rates on reverse repurchase agreements by five basis points to 2.55%. Reports that China accused the U.S. of “repeatedly abusing” international trade rules garnered attention. The country’s commerce ministry said in a statement that the proposed tariffs has serious damaged and weakened the fair and just nature of the global trade system.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index opened higher but traded in the red in afternoon trading. Index heavyweight Tencent Holdings(HK:0700)’s share prices fell 3.1% after announcing a weaker-than-expected revenue. Citi cut the company’s target price to $532. PetroChina (HK:0857) jumped 1.8% after oil price rose on a surprise draw on U.S. crude inventories and the ongoing dollar weakness.
Down under, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 swung between gains and losses throughout the day, but closed 0.2% lower after data showed 17,500 net new jobs were added in February, less than the estimate of 20,000. Oil and energy stocks outperformed as U.S. crude inventories unexpectedly drop.