Asian stock markets mixed after Fed minutes

Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Thursday after minutes of the March Federal Open Market Committee meeting showed that Fed officials believe the U.S. economy has entered a recession following the banking crisis. The Fed’s comments erased earlier gains on Wall Street after the release of a U.S. consumer price index report that showed inflation cooled in March. The U.S. CPI rose 0.1 percent monthly and 5 percent from a year earlier, while core CPI rose 5.6 percent annually. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index shares fell 0.2 percent, while the Hang Seng Tech index fell 0.74 percent. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.1 percent and the Shenzhen Component Index fell 0.67 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.16 percent. Elsewhere, South Korean markets were brighter in the region, with the Kospi up 0.16 percent and the Kosdaq up 0.15 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 also rose marginally but the Topix fell slightly. On Wall Street, stocks closed lower overnight. The Dow Jones Industrial Average snapped a four-day winning streak and lost 0.11 percent after the U.S. inflation report. The S&P 500 fell 0.41 percent and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.85 percent.