Stocks in the Asian region declined on Thursday, after China’s consumer inflation dropped to a seven-month low in December and the Federal Reserve minutes showed that the central bank is ready to scale-back on its monthly bond purchases even further.
“Reading the minutes, we feel that the bias is for a faster reduction in asset purchases,” UniCredit wrote in a statement. “It would, on the other hand, probably take hugely negative surprises on the data front, to halt the tapering train.”
Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) December meeting showed that officials supported tapering its stimulus, however some of the officials suggested the move was premature. Most members recommended the central bank should reduce its asset buying program even further.
Members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will meet up Jan 28-29 to consider the next move for the central bank’s asset purchases as the US economy strengthens.
Meanwhile in Europe, most of the stocks closed the session flat, while shares in Asia advanced on Wednesday.
The Japanese benchmark Nikkei 225 index declined 1.50% to 15,880.33, while Tokyo’s broader Topix index edged 0.73% lower to 1,296.75.
The Nikkei benchmark dropped to a one-week low, while the yen weakened 0.05% lower at ¥104.89 as of the time of writing.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) quarterly survey revealed that the Japan’s consumer sentiment dropped December. The Country’s consumer sentiment index declined 0.9 points to -9.2 in December.
“I personally consider that it may take some time before the full impact of QQE (quantitative and qualitative monetary easing) materializes,” Sayuri Shirai, BoJ board member said in a speech.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 0.79% to 22,815.05 at the time of writing, while the Chinese mainland’s index in Shanghai fell 0.82% lower at 2,027.62.
China’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) climbed 2.5% higher in December, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) confirmed on Thursday. Analysts forecasted a 2.7% rise in the CPI, because of vegetable price. The producer price index dropped 1.4% lower.
The National Bureau of Statistics reported the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast unchanged at 7.7%.
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