Stocks in Asia were broadly lower on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the fourth time in 2018.
The Nikkei 225 plunged 595.34 points, or 2.8%, to 20,392.58.
Shares of conglomerate Softbank Group continued to remain under pressure on Thursday as they slipped 4.7%, a day after the lackluster public debut of its mobile unit on Wednesday.
Shares of the newly listed Softbank Corp fell as much as 8% earlier on Thursday, before recovering to see gains of 1.1% on the day.
Over in Japan, Tokyo Electron, which manufactures semiconductor equipment, was down 4.3% while semiconductor test equipment manufacturer Advantest fell 3.9%.
The Bank of Japan on Thursday announced its widely-expected decision to keep interest rates targets unchanged amid global risks.
The Japanese yen, widely viewed as a safe-haven currency, traded at 111.84 against the U.S. dollar after seeing an earlier low of 112.60.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index plummeted 241.86 points, or 0.9%, to 25,623.53, after the Hong Kong Monetary Authority followed the Fed in raising its base rate up by 25 basis points, to 2.75%.
Hong Kong-listed shares of HSBC declined by around 1%.
Before the market open, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority urged residents to be prepared for possible market volatility and warned of increasing downside risks to the economy due to the Fed’s rate hike.
The Fed raised key overnight lending rate rates by 25 basis points as expected to a range of 2.25% to 2.5%
Korean markets shrank, as shares of LG Electronics declined by 4.1%. One analyst at NH Investment and Securities estimated a 15% year-on-year decline in fourth quarter operating profit for LG Electronics, citing weakness in sectors such as its television and smartphone divisions.
Shares of semiconductor-related companies saw significant declines on Thursday, with chipmakers SK Hynix dipping 2.8%, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. declining 2%.
Australian markets fell heavily, with shares of the country’s so-called Big Four banks seeing declines. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group fell 1.6%, National Australia Bank slipped 1%, Commonwealth Bank of Australia shed 0.7% and Westpac lost 1.1%
The Australian dollar was at $0.7107 U.S. after declining from levels around $0.72 yesterday.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 lost 23.71 points, or 0.8%, to 3,067.42
China’s yuan weakened past the 6.91-to-the-U.S.dollar level and was last trading at 6.9136 per dollar, 0.3 percent weaker than the previous day’s late session close after the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) set the midpoint of the currency’s daily trading band weaker at 6.8936 per dollar.
On Wednesday, China’s central bank rolled out a policy tool to spur lending to small and private firms, which some analysts said was effectively a targeted rate cut. The Targeted Medium-term Lending Facility (TMLF) is the PBOC’s latest step to support a slowing economy amid a trade dispute with the United States.
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex index slipped 108.69 points, or 1.1%, to 9,674.52
In Korea, the Kospi index removed 18.72 points, or 0.9%, at 2,060.12
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index slumped 8.03 points, or 0.3%, to 3,050.62
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 moved higher 10 points, or 0.1%, to 8,772.19
In Australia, the ASX 200 dropped 74.78 points, or 1.3%, to 5,505.82
