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March 15, 2024
12:49 pm
A screen showing the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong
Asia-Pacific markets fell on Friday, after producer prices in the United States rose at a faster-than-expected pace of 0.6% in February.
Excluding food and energy prices, the core producer price index rose 0.3% in February. Economists polled by Dow Jones had expected a 0.3% increase for the headline producer price index and a 0.2% increase for the core reading.
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell by 1.9%, influenced by consumer and technology stocks, while the CSI 300 Index in mainland China fell by 0.13%. The Hang Seng Index is still up 1.7% on the week.
Meanwhile, the People’s Bank of China kept the one-year medium-term lending rate unchanged at 2.5%.
The Japanese Nikkei 225 index fell by 0.26% to 38,699.64 points, while the Topix index bucked the broader selling operations and rose by 0.3% to close at 2,669.81 points.
This comes at a time when the country’s Finance Minister said that the country “is no longer in a state of recession,” which is a clear departure from previous positions.
The Kospi index in South Korea closed down by 1.91% at 2666.84 points, while the KOSDAC index fell by 0.8% to 880.46 points.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.56%, closing at 7,670.3 points, reaching its lowest level in about two weeks.
Overnight, all three major indexes on the New York Stock Exchange lost ground, as a hot inflation report sent bond yields higher, with the benchmark 10-year Treasury note adding about 10 basis points to 4.29%.
This put pressure on stocks, with the Dow Jones falling 0.35%. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell by 0.3%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell by 0.29%. (agencies)
2024-03-15 08:49:44
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