Asian stocks sink after Fed raises rates


FE Team | Published: December 20, 2018 12:09:38 | Updated: December 22, 2018 11:37:26


File Photo (Collected)

Asian shares fell on Thursday after the Federal Reserve raised US interest rates and Wall Street dived to a 15-month low.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index fell 1.7 per cent to 20,631.45 points and the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.4 per cent to 2,538.79. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng retreated 0.4 per cent to 25,748.54.

Seoul’s Kospi lost 0.6 per cent to 2,066.09. Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 shed 0.3 per cent to 5,561.00 and Taiwan also declined. Benchmarks in New Zealand, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur advanced.

US stocks gave up a rally and plunged, sending the market to its lowest level since September 2017. The Dow Jones Industrial Average swung from a gain to close down 1.5 per cent at 23,323.66.

 The S&P 500 skidded 1.5 per cent to 2,506.96. It has lost 9.2 per cent this month. The Nasdaq composite gave up 2.2 per cent to 6,636.83, reports AP.

Benchmark US crude lost 77 cents to $47.40 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract jumped $1.57 on Wednesday to close at $48.17.

Brent crude, used to price international oils, retreated 65 cents to $56.59 per barrel in London. It gained 98 cents the previous session to close at $57.24.

The dollar eased to 112.41 yen from Wednesday’s 112.44 yen. The euro gained to $1.1381 from $1.1375.

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