Stock markets in Asia were mostly down on Thursday. Investors were cautious after new signals that central banks like the US Federal Reserve are looking to step up their efforts to tackle high inflation. There are fears that this could affect economic growth.
Furthermore, the financial markets reacted to the falling oil prices.
In Hong Kong, where the Hang Seng index lost 1.5 percent in the meantime, the strict corona restrictions also affected sentiment. Online shopping group Alibaba lost by 3 percent. Rapidly rising interest rates and other monetary tightening tend to have more impact on assets considered risky, such as tech companies.
In Shanghai, the indicator rose 0.3 percent. Beijing has ordered state banks to set up a credit line of almost 113 billion euros for infrastructure projects. China thinks that more focus on construction can give the economy a boost. Especially now that the country is burdened by restrictions due to the spreading coronavirus.
The Nikkei in Japan lost 0.2 percent. Japanese technology and electronics company Toshiba rose about 2 percent. The company previously advertised itself and has now received a dozen bids, according to its own statement. There is a good chance that the company will be delisted from the stock exchange.
It also emerged that the Australian trade surplus increased more sharply in April than experts had generally anticipated. The All Ordinaries in Sydney lost nearly 1 percent. The Kospi in Seoul lost 1.1 percent.
Crude oil fell in value after reports that Saudi Arabia wants to pump more of its fossil fuel should Russia produce significantly less due to sanctions. Oil cartel OPEC and its allies such as Russia and Kazakhstan (OPEC+) will meet later on Thursday to discuss production policy.
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