Lola Evans
13 Jan 2022, 17:19 GMT+10
SYDNEY, NSW, Australia - Shares in Asia came under pressure on Thursday, although the Australian market gained.
U.S. inflation fears were stoked overnight by the release of a report showing the U.S. consumer price index jumping 7 percent in the 12 months to December, the largest annual increase in nearly four decades.
"If you are a global investor and you've seen very significant stock market gains in the U.S. during 2021, if you are seeing inflation as a threat then a lot of investors may be tempted to reallocate funds away from developed equity markets in the West into the mix of developed and developing markets in East Asia," Jim McCafferty, Nomura's joint head of APAC equity research told Reuters Thursday.
The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo shed 276.53 points or 0.96 percent to 29,489.33.
China's Shanghai Composite fell 42.17 points or 1.17 percent to 3,555.26.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng reversed earlier losses to close 27.60 points or 0.11 percent higher at 24,429.77.
The Australian All Ordinaries, going against the trend, advanced 35.30 points or 0.45 percent to 7,797.50. This despite Australia's most populated state, New South Wales, recording a record 92,264 Covid-19 cases in the prior 24 hours.
The U.S. dollar continued under pressure during the Asian trading zone, following major falls in the United States overnight. The euro was steady around 114.41. The British pound was clinging to its overnight gains, trading at1.3711. The Japanese yen was in demand at 114.61. The Swiss franc was well bid at 0.9143.
The Canadian dollar edged up to 1.2502. The Australian and New Zealand dollars were being bought up at 0.7284 and 0.6855 respecively.
Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrials rose 38.30 points or 0.11 percent, to close Wednesday at 36,290.32.
The Nasdaq Composite climbed 34.94 points or 0.23 percent to 15,188.39.
The Standard and Poor's 500 added 13.28 points or 0.28 percent to 4,726.30.
Get a daily dose of New Zealand Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to New Zealand Star.
More InformationPARIS, France: Signaling further disruptions for summer travelers, workers at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport said they would go on strike ...
SOFIA, Bulgaria: Russian diplomats and their families departed Bulgaria over the weekend, amidst heightened tensions between the two eastern European ...
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa: More frequent power cuts in South Africa have affected households and businesses across the country, with state-owned ...
HONG KONG: An engineering vessel with 30 people on board went missing 200 miles off Hong Kong after it snapped ...
NICE, France -As some 1,000 Frenchmen are being hospitalized daily with Covid infections, French officials have "invited" or "recommended" the ...
BRUSSELS, Belgium: Negotiations on a free trade agreement between the European Union and New Zealand ended successfully this week, paving ...
DETROIT, Michigan, global shortage of computer chips, vehicles, Detroit automaker, General Motors, GM's total salesDETROIT, Michigan: The global shortage of ...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks gyrated on Tuesday, with major indices tumbling more than two percent before regaining ...
NEW DELHI, India: To combat worsening pollution, India, the world's second most populous country, has banned single-use plastic items, ranging ...
SAN FRANCISCO, California: In response to a string of shootings that have broken out at U.S. properties it lists, rental ...
SYDNEY, NSW, Australia - Stocks in Asia strengthened on Tuesday with major gains recorded across the region.The Reserve Bank of ...
NEW DELHI, India: As the Indian government aims to increase local fuel supplies to meet rising demand and boost federal ...