Asian Shares Decline as Dollar Goes Higher

The Index Today

Asian shares fell lower as the dollar went up on Thursday. Investors are looking towards hike rate policies in the U.S and other economies such as Japan.

Japan’s Nikkei rose by 0.8% whereas the MCSI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside of Japan fell by 0.18%. In other markets, Australia’s declined by 0.1%, Chinese blue chips fell 0.3% and Hong Kong saw shed 0.35%.

In Hong Kong, Kaisa shares saw a large increase of 24% as they started traded again. The U.S dollar against the Japanese yen recorded its highest in almost five years at 115.3 yen. Federal Reserve policy makers said they are looking towards speeding up the tapering process and rate hikes. Due to Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, U.S Treasuries and stock markets will remain closed.

The Bank of Korea increased their interest rate by 25 basis points due to increased concerns about rising household debt and inflation. Brent crude remained at $82.53 a barrel whereas U.S crude was recorded at $7856.

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