Japan, Tokyo city skyline, Tokyo Tower.
Prisma by Dukas | Universal Image Group | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific stocks and currencies fell on Thursday, triggering a broader market sell-off after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates for a third consecutive time and signaled smaller cuts ahead.
Investors evaluated Bank of Japan’s decision Policy rate kept unchanged at 0.25% for third consecutive meeting. The yen fell to 155.40 against the dollar after the announcement, compared with 154.60 before the Bank of Japan announced the news.
In response to the central bank’s actions, Nikkei 225 Index It resumed online after the lunch break, and the decline narrowed to 0.63%, narrower than the previous 0.96%. The Topix fell 0.49%.
South Korea’s Kospi index fell 1.65%, and the Kosdaq index fell 1.65%. The South Korean won is hovering near its lowest level against the dollar since March 2009, last trading at $1,450.46.
Australian S&P/ASX 200 Index It fell 1.7% to close at 8,168.2 points.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.88%, and mainland China’s CSI 300 Index fell 0.62%.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority issued a Cut interest rates by 25 basis points In lockstep with the Fed. The country’s currency is closely pegged to the U.S. dollar.
Elsewhere, New Zealand’s economy fell into recession, September quarter down 1% compared with the previous season, according to Statistics New Zealand’s official statistics agency. A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of decline.
Overnight, the US Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,123.03 points, or 2.58%, to 42,326.87 points, marking its first 10 consecutive declines since 1974. The S&P 500 fell 2.95% to 5,872.16, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 3.0% to 19,392.69.
Wall Street sold off after the central bank cut its overnight borrowing rate by 25 basis points to a target range of 4.25% to 4.5%. Although the rate cut was widely expected, the Fed said it would cut rates only twice in 2025, down from the four rate cuts previously forecast.
“We got there very quickly, but I think obviously our progress will slow down in the future,” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said at a post-meeting press conference.
—CNBC’s Brian Evans and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this report.
About The Author
