Markets in Asia were mostly weaker Thursday, after signals that the U.S. Federal Reserve could raise interest rates as soon as December, while stimulus hopes in Japan and China lifted shares there.
The Nikkei 225 gained 32.69 points, or 0.2%, to 18,935.71, ahead of Japanese central bank’s policy meeting Friday. Intraday, the benchmark rose above 19,000 for the first time since Aug. 28.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng moved downward 136.33 points, or 0.6%, to 22,819.94
On Wednesday, Fed officials explicitly said they might raise short-term rates in December, suggesting they had become less concerned in recent weeks about turbulence in global financial markets and uncertain economic developments overseas.
Asian markets have rallied this month on hopes that the Fed would keep rates lower for longer and prospects of further stimulus from central banks in Europe and Asia.
In Japan, Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda hasn’t publicly indicated that he believes further easing action is necessary now, instead saying the bank’s 2% inflation target is achievable next year.
Weak economic data has led many economists to expect additional easing, regardless, though an unexpected rise in industrial output, reported earlier Thursday, curbed some hopes. Output rose 1.0% in September compared with the previous month—the first increase in three months. Economists had expected a 0.5% fall, according to a poll by The Wall Street Journal and the Nikkei.
The yen strengthened, with the U.S. dollar weakening to as low as ¥120.58 before bouncing back to ¥120.75. That compares with ¥121.08 late Wednesday in New York.
In corporate news, shares of Nintendo fell 9%, after the company said at a strategy briefing that it will delay the introduction of its first mobile application to March 2016 from the end of 2015.
On Wednesday, the company reported an operating profit for the April-to-September period of ¥8.98 billion ($74.2 million U.S.), a turnaround from a year-earlier loss of ¥215 million, but weaker than analysts’ ¥14.4 billion forecast.
After the market close, Japan’s Sony Corp. said it returned to a net profit in its fiscal second quarter after a loss a year earlier. The company posted a net profit of ¥33.6 billion ($278 million U.S.) in the three months ended Sept. 30 on solid sales of its PlayStation 4 video game console and image sensors.
Shares of the firm finished up 0.9% Thursday.
In Australia, shares of Woolworths fell 9.8%, leading a basket of consumer-staple shares down 5.4%.
The supermarket operator warned that first-half profit may fall as much as 35%, as it cuts prices and accelerates investments to compete with rivals. The company expects after-tax profit of between 900 million Australian dollars ($639 million U.S.) and A$1 billion in the six months through December, which is 28% to 35% lower than a year earlier, excluding significant items.
CHINA
The CSI 300 in Shanghai eked up 8.39 points, or 0.2%, to 3,533.31, as investors await possible announcements from the Communist Party’s annual plenum, where officials lay out China’s economic plan the next five years.
In other markets
The Kospi index in Korea lost 8.35 points, or 0.4%, to 2,034.16
Taiwan’s Taiex index slid 94.91 points, or 1.1%, to 8,571.08
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index erased 39 points, or 1.3%, to 3,001.51
The NZX 50 recovered 3.99 points, or 0.1%, to 6,002.97.
The ASX 200 fell 68.37 points, or 1.3%, to 5,266.86
