Asian stocks closed mostly lower on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the second time this year, a move widely expected by markets.
The Nikkei 225 dipped 15.23 points, or 0.1%, to 19,883.52
The Hang Seng Index gained 23.8 points, or 0.1%, to 25,875.90
Despite inflation coming in below the Fed's target, the central bank said it would raise the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points. The Fed also provided greater detail about how it would unwind its massive balance sheet.
In Japan, shares of Toshiba remained under pressure as some of Western Digital's SanDisk subsidiaries sought injunctive relief against it. Western Digital said it had "no choice" but to pursue legal action as Toshiba continued to "circumvent" contractual rights related to its memory joint ventures.
Media reports circulated that the Japanese conglomerate is also unlikely to meet the deadline for filing its annual financial statement. Other reports later said Toshiba would choose a bidder for the sale of its memory business in the second half of the month. Shares of the company reversed losses earlier in the session to close 1% higher at 316.5 yen each.
Against the yen, the U.S. dollar was mostly flat, trading at 109.64, compared with levels around 109.59 seen in the previous session. Moreover, the Bank of Japan begins a two-day meeting today.
Interest-rate-sensitive property stocks traded lower in Hong Kong after the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) raised interest rates by 25 basis points following the Fed's move stateside. The Hong Kong dollar is pegged to the greenback. Hang Lung Group dropped 4.4% and New World Development was down by 1.9%
South Korea's Samsung Electronics said it would be increasing its production of 64-layer NAND flash memory chips as the company intends to cover more than 50% of the market by the end of the year. Samsung shares closed 0.7% higher.
Australian markets tumbled, driven by weakness in its materials and energy sub-indexes, which were down 2.5% and 2.2% respectively. Major banking and mining stocks traded in the red.
In the Land Down Under, jobs data for May beat expectations, with 42,000 new jobs created, compared with the 10,000 expected. The Australian dollar jumped as high as $0.7625 against the American greenback following the news, compared with levels around $0.7587 seen earlier. The Aussie dollar last traded at $0.7612 U.S.
In New Zealand, first quarter gross domestic product (GDP) rose 0.5%, missing an expected gain of 0.7% on-quarter, and at an annual pace of 2.5%, below the 2.7% gain forecast.
In other markets
The CSI 300 lost 46.97 points, or 1.3%, to 3,535.30
In Taiwan, the Taiex index dumped 55.69 points, or 0.6%, to 10,072.46
In Korea, the Kospi index dropped 2.06 points, or 0.1%, to 2,372.64
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index deleted 4.09 points, or 0.1%, to 3,253.43
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 strengthened 43.91 points, or 0.6%, to 7,484
In Australia, the ASX 200 gained 61.14 points, or 1.1%, to 5,833.90
