Forex Marketz Daily Forex News – Fully Markets Update
Asian markets were quiet this morning after a quiet and mixed day on Wall Street. U.S. Stocks ended narrowly mixed before closing before today’s Thanksgiving Day holiday. Investors also looked into the Federal Reserve Board’s last monetary policy meeting minutes.
The FOMC minutes showed that most of the policy makers were upbeat about the state of the U.S. economy but worried about inflation. The notes reflected that Fed members thought gradual interest rate hikes were likely.
In Australia, the S&P ASX 200 lost 0.07 percent. The energy and materials sub-indices led gains after commodity prices firmed overnight. Those gains, were offset by losses in the utilities and consumer discretionary sub-indices.
South Korea’s benchmark, the Kospi Composite index was down 0.07 percent after markets opened an hour later. This delay was due to a nationwide university entrance exam. Blue chip tech plays fell, but several manufacturing names climbed. Samsung Electronics was down 0.93 percent and Posco was up 1.44 percent. Cosmetics companies also were higher this morning, with Amorepacific adding almost 2.27 percent.
Chinese markets were down in early trade. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 0.15 percent. This comes a day after closing above the 30,000 level for the first time in a decade. On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.36 percent and the Shenzhen Composite fell 0.8 percent.
Some Asian Markets Close for Holidays
Elsewhere in the Asian and Pacific Rim, Japanese markets, including the Nikkei 225, were closed for a public holiday.
The U.S. dollar index was flat this morning. The almighty buck was little changed against a basket of six currencies. This comes after falling to its lowest levels since October overnight. As of 9:40 am Hong Kong time, the dollar index was near the pivot at 93.00.
U.S. markets will be closed for Thanksgiving Day today.
