Asian Markets in China Trade Lower Friday

Asian traders were cautious Friday as they continued to digest a very dovish pivot from the Unite States Federal Reserve which ruled out any rate hikes this year. The Asian benchmarks on the mainland China were also down as the week came to a close.

In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 was down 0.11 percent. Shares of Fast Retailing were down over one percent on the day. In Tokyo, the broader Topix index was also down a fraction.

In Japanese economic data showed that the island nation’s February annual core consumer inflation slowed. This will make things complicated for the Bank of Japan as it grapples with no inflation and a monetary policy that is not working.

The Kospi composite index, in South Korea, was flat. Shares of Samsung and rival chipmaker SK Hynix each gained one percent.

Elsewhere in the Asian and Pacific Rim, the Australian S&P ASX 200 was up 0.43 percent. Most sub-sectors were in the green today.

Asian Markets in China Lead the way Lower in the Region

Looking at mainland China on Friday, the benchmarks were leading the region lower. The Shanghai composite was down 0.77 percent after lunch. The smaller Shenzhen composite was down over one percent. The Shenzhen component lost 1.2 percent.

The CSI Index, which tracks the largest companies in China, fell 0.99 percent by the afternoon trade session.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was down 0.54 percent. This was a reversal from early gains. Shares of Tencent shed 1.27 percent after the Chinese tech giant reported its slowest annual profit in over a decade.