The Fort Worth Press - Most Asian markets drop as traders weigh Fed; bitcoin eases

USD -
AED 3.67299
AFN 67.946782
ALL 93.207221
AMD 386.974854
ANG 1.802123
AOA 910.98202
ARS 998.755701
AUD 1.544354
AWG 1.8
AZN 1.691712
BAM 1.857325
BBD 2.01886
BDT 119.48491
BGN 1.854553
BHD 0.376879
BIF 2952.762636
BMD 1
BND 1.345641
BOB 6.908832
BRL 5.776602
BSD 0.999886
BTN 84.392794
BWP 13.725155
BYN 3.272208
BYR 19600
BZD 2.01548
CAD 1.402545
CDF 2865.000434
CHF 0.887495
CLF 0.035562
CLP 981.309839
CNY 7.230099
CNH 7.24008
COP 4475.83
CRC 510.721544
CUC 1
CUP 26.5
CVE 104.713111
CZK 23.944974
DJF 178.046418
DKK 7.06352
DOP 60.473685
DZD 133.681663
EGP 49.353204
ERN 15
ETB 123.94359
EUR 0.94701
FJD 2.27435
FKP 0.789317
GBP 0.78787
GEL 2.730102
GGP 0.789317
GHS 16.072666
GIP 0.789317
GMD 71.00036
GNF 8618.069932
GTQ 7.721894
GYD 209.184836
HKD 7.78008
HNL 25.247384
HRK 7.133259
HTG 131.382772
HUF 384.544017
IDR 15914.7
ILS 3.738105
IMP 0.789317
INR 84.433902
IQD 1309.851665
IRR 42092.497889
ISK 138.320354
JEP 0.789317
JMD 158.287592
JOD 0.709098
JPY 155.767044
KES 129.250012
KGS 86.3765
KHR 4061.574109
KMF 466.349718
KPW 899.999621
KRW 1400.903561
KWD 0.307599
KYD 0.833207
KZT 495.71708
LAK 21965.811966
LBP 89540.45584
LKR 292.121707
LRD 184.475424
LSL 18.302027
LTL 2.95274
LVL 0.60489
LYD 4.884048
MAD 9.98661
MDL 18.112322
MGA 4684.710351
MKD 58.241904
MMK 3247.960992
MNT 3397.999946
MOP 8.01546
MRU 39.750432
MUR 47.190196
MVR 15.449715
MWK 1733.742308
MXN 20.587085
MYR 4.480497
MZN 63.897759
NAD 18.302027
NGN 1679.85963
NIO 36.800319
NOK 11.123215
NPR 135.033904
NZD 1.702345
OMR 0.385033
PAB 0.999905
PEN 3.810139
PGK 3.961938
PHP 58.753497
PKR 277.715048
PLN 4.09533
PYG 7808.968491
QAR 3.64504
RON 4.711401
RSD 110.814981
RUB 99.499055
RWF 1372.787359
SAR 3.756074
SBD 8.383555
SCR 13.598533
SDG 601.506089
SEK 10.984197
SGD 1.342375
SHP 0.789317
SLE 22.814974
SLL 20969.504736
SOS 571.404152
SRD 35.356496
STD 20697.981008
SVC 8.749122
SYP 2512.529858
SZL 18.309939
THB 34.855016
TJS 10.658475
TMT 3.51
TND 3.157965
TOP 2.342096
TRY 34.34758
TTD 6.789045
TWD 32.561028
TZS 2659.999759
UAH 41.219825
UGX 3669.445974
UYU 42.477826
UZS 12806.024577
VES 44.994614
VND 25400
VUV 118.722009
WST 2.791591
XAF 622.917458
XAG 0.032948
XAU 0.00039
XCD 2.70255
XDR 0.753255
XOF 622.958869
XPF 113.255209
YER 249.801597
ZAR 18.24247
ZMK 9001.209182
ZMW 27.421652
ZWL 321.999592
  • CMSC

    0.0250

    24.635

    +0.1%

  • SCS

    -0.2100

    13.16

    -1.6%

  • AZN

    0.6600

    65.95

    +1%

  • NGG

    0.5000

    62.62

    +0.8%

  • BP

    0.3400

    28.91

    +1.18%

  • BTI

    0.2550

    35.675

    +0.71%

  • RIO

    -0.1350

    60.485

    -0.22%

  • GSK

    0.0050

    35.115

    +0.01%

  • CMSD

    0.0170

    24.747

    +0.07%

  • RBGPF

    -0.9400

    59.25

    -1.59%

  • RYCEF

    -0.2300

    6.88

    -3.34%

  • BCC

    -3.0000

    139.55

    -2.15%

  • JRI

    -0.0500

    13.19

    -0.38%

  • BCE

    -0.1050

    27.105

    -0.39%

  • RELX

    0.0770

    46.197

    +0.17%

  • VOD

    -0.0200

    8.73

    -0.23%

Most Asian markets drop as traders weigh Fed; bitcoin eases
Most Asian markets drop as traders weigh Fed; bitcoin eases / Photo: © AFP

Most Asian markets drop as traders weigh Fed; bitcoin eases

Asian markets mostly fell Thursday as investors digested US inflation data that supported the case for another interest rate cut next month, while worries over the next Donald Trump administration continued to cloud optimism.

Text size:

Bitcoin eased just below the $90,000 level it broke for the first time Wednesday when it hit a record $93,462, with observers expecting it to soon top $100,000 following pro-crypto pledges from the US president-elect.

After a tough first half of the week for Asian investors, many are trying to get back into the game via bargain-buying, but concerns over another possible China-US trade war, and Beijing's economic woes, are weighing on confidence.

Wall Street provided a tepid lead after news that US consumer prices had picked up pace last month from September, which was in line with forecasts but highlighted the slow progress in bringing inflation under control.

The figure lifted hopes that the Federal Reserve will cut rates again next month.

"This is a business-as-usual print for the Fed. Inflation is moving sideways on a year-on-year basis, but there is nothing in (the) report that would alarm the Fed," said Bank of America Global Research in a report.

"A 25-basis-point cut in December firmly remains our base case."

Still, officials at the US central bank trod a careful road.

Minneapolis Fed boss Neel Kashkari said: "Right now, I think that inflation is headed in the right direction. I've got confidence about that, but we need to wait."

"We've got another month or six weeks of data to analyse before we make any decisions," he said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.

His Dallas counterpart Lorie Logan added that she saw more reductions to borrowing costs but that the neutral level -- one which supports growth but keeps inflation in check -- was uncertain.

"I think it behooves us to proceed cautiously at this point," she said.

Still, there are worries about the impact of Trump's plans to slash taxes, ease regulations and impose huge tariffs on imports -- particularly from China -- which observers say could reignite inflation.

Some players are now scaling back their bets on how many cuts the Fed will make in 2025 in response to that.

After Wall Street's flat day, Asia struggled.

Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Mumbai, Taipei, Manila, Bangkok and Jakarta all fell, though Sydney, Seoul, Singapore and Wellington eked out gains.

The dollar built on advances against its peers on the prospect that Trump's policies will keep the Fed from cutting as much as initially expected.

The greenback topped 155 yen for the first time since July, putting focus on Japanese authorities who have said they are prepared to support their unit if they considered moves to be one-sided or speculative.

The dollar was also at a more than one-year high against the euro.

In company news, Chinese tech giant Tencent rose more than one percent after an upbeat earnings announcement in which it saw forecast-beating profits in the third quarter.

It also said it saw signs of a recovery in the world's number two economy.

The results are expected to be followed this week by fellow tech titans JD.com and Alibaba, which will be pored over for signs of an improvement in Chinese domestic consumption.

- Key figures around 0710 GMT -

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.5 percent at 38,535.70 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.1 percent at 19,415.22

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.7 percent at 3,379.84 (close)

Dollar/yen: UP at 155.89 yen from 155.51 yen on Wednesday

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0557 from $1.0564

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2687 from $1.2710

Euro/pound: UP at 83.13 pence from 83.11 pence

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.6 percent at $68.02 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.6 percent at $71.88 per barrel

New York - Dow: UP 0.1 percent at 43,958.19 points (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 8,030.33 (close)

W.Matthews--TFWP