Fed messages interpreted differently in Asian markets

Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Thursday as investors digested minutes from the Federal Reserve that showed its members were still determined to fight inflation with rate hikes. The Bank of Korea kept interest rates at 3.5 percent, in line with expectations and for the first time in nearly a year of rate hikes. South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.1 percent and Samsung Electronics rose 1.8 percent after the move. Japanese markets will be closed on Thursday for the emperor’s birthday. The S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.28 percent in Australia. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index rose 0.4 percent and the Hang Seng Tech index added 0.37 percent. In mainland China, the Shenzhen Composite fell a fraction, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.25 percent. Hong Kong and Singapore are expected to release their consumer price indexes, with Singapore’s CPI expected to come in at 7.1 percent for January. Overnight, U.S. markets closed lower on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 most notably losing for a fourth straight day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also closed lower, but the Nasdaq Composite bucked the trend and closed 0.13 percent higher.