Japan Markets closed.
China -0.28%. Magnitude 7.1 earthquake on China western border.
Hong Kong -0.39%.
Australia -0.40%. Australian headline Q4 2022 capex +2.2% q/q (vs. expected +1.3%). Australian business investment hit a seven-year high in the fourth quarter of 2022, led by spending in the food and accommodation sector.
India +0.15%.
Overnight on Wall Street, the major stock indices are closing the day mixed (the Nasdaq closed modestly higher). The Dow fell -83.26 points or -0.25% at 33046.34; S&P index fell -6.08 points or -0.15% at 3991.27; NASDAQ index rose 14.78 points or 0.13% at 11507.08.
The minutes showed that some Fed officials favored raising the key rate by 50 basis points, suggesting ongoing concerns about inflation. The info also indicated that policymakers could return to a more aggressive approach if necessary to tame price increases.
Australian CPI data was a shocking surprise, locked in rate hike. Next CPI due next week.
Bank of Korea leaves its base rate unchanged, lowers its inflation forecast. South Korea’s central bank has kept its lending rate at 3.5%, in line with economists expectations.
Hong Kong and Singapore are expected to release their consumer price indexes, with Singapore’s CPI expected to come in at 7.1% for January.
Oil prices rose slightly in thin Asian trade on Thursday, pausing from a six-day losing streak fed by mounting concerns that more aggressive interest rate increases by central banks could pressure economic growth and fuel demand.
Brent crude futures rose 2 cents to $80.62 per barrel by 0110 GMT. West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) rose 9 cents, or 0.1%, to $74.04 a barrel.
Gold prices rose on Thursday, helped by a slight pullback in the dollar, although prospects of U.S. interest rates staying higher for longer kept bullion on a tight leash.
Spot gold was up 0.2% at $1,828.17 per ounce, as of 0340 GMT. U.S. gold futures slipped 0.3% to $1,835.90.
Spot silver gained 0.6% to $21.64 per ounce, platinum climbed 0.6% to $954.82 and palladium rose 0.5% to $1,489.33.
US futures mostly higher. Dow Jones +0.27%; S&P 500 +0.44%; Nasdaq +0.78%.
