Asian stocks fell, with the regional gauge falling for a fourth consecutive week, after US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen signaled the US central bank was close to raising interest rates.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index retreated 0.5 percent to 134.12 as of 4:01pm in Hong Kong, taking its loss this week to 0.9 percent.
Asian equity markets have been whipsawed since Republican candidate Donald Trump’s shock election victory on Nov. 8.
Emerging market assets have been hit by expectations of faster US interest-rate increases amid speculation Trump’s spending plans will boost inflation.
Fed funds futures are showing a 96 percent chance of a US rate hike next month, compared with 80 percent before the election.
“People are expecting that hike to come through,” Hong Kong-based Haitong International Securities Group (海通國際證券) managing director for sales trading Andrew Sullivan said. “Next week is going to be a quite a quiet week as we have Thanksgiving, so the US is going to be closed next Thursday and a lot of people are likely to take a holiday, so that could be something that bears on the market.”
In her first public statement since the election, Yellen on Thursday told US lawmakers that the Fed was close to boosting borrowing costs as the economy continued to gain traction. The comments torpedoed US Treasuries, pushing up yields.
In Taipei, the TAIEX on Friday closed up 13.53 points, or 0.15 percent, at 9,008.79. That brought the weekly gains to 0.6 percent from last week’s close at 8,957.76.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 on Friday advanced 0.6 percent and was up more than 20 percent from a June low, meeting the common definition of a bull market. The TOPIX closed up 0.4 percent, taking its weekly gain to 3.6 percent.
A weaker yen has buoyed exporters, while Japanese lenders have benefited from a rebound in global borrowing costs.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday had his first meeting with Trump in New York as he sought to build a personal relationship that would deter Trump from pursuing the trade and security policies he advocated during his election campaign.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed up 0.5 percent and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of Chinese companies listed in the territory advanced 0.4 percent.
The Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.5 percent.
South Korea’s KOSPI slipped 0.3 percent.
Singapore’s Straits Times Index added 0.8 percent, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.4 percent and New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 Index closed 0.6 percent higher.
The Jakarta Composite Index fell 0.7 percent and Malaysia’s benchmark measure declined 0.3 percent.
India’s S&P BSE Sensex Index rose 0.2 percent after being down as much as 0.4 percent earlier.
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