Asian stock markets ended mostly lower on Thursday. The stock markets in Thailand were closed for a public holiday. The Shanghai Composite was down 0.22% to close at 3,524.74, while the Shenzhen Component declined 0.79% to 14,901.97.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan was down 0.2% to close at 28,015.02, the Topix closed nearly flat to 1,953.55 and in South Korea, the Kospi fell 0.38% to 3,208.38. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost 0.53%.
In the Philippines, equities declined as the country fight with rising cases of the Delta coronavirus variant.
On the flip side, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged marginally up to close at 7,588.20.
Meanwhile, European stocks were mixed on Thursday with the pan-European Stoxx 600 hovered around the flat zone. On the sectoral front, basic resources sliding 1.4% while insurance stocks gained 0.8%.
FTSE was down by 0.14%, DAX and CAC were marginally up on Thursday’s session.
On the currency front, currencies in the region were mixed despite a slight moderation in U.S. inflation for July knocking the U.S. dollar off its four-month highs and temporarily easing concerns of a faster normalisation timeline by the Fed.
However, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell nearly 2 basis points to 1.341% and the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond dipped by 1 basis point to 1.991%.
US stocks finished mostly higher on Wednesday as in-line CPI print for July offered comfort to investors. Notably, July CPI rose 5.4% as against broad expectations of 5.4%-5.5%, while core inflation (excluding food and fuel prices) rose 4.3% lower than 4.5% in June. Bond yield softened marginally yesterday and settled at 1.34%.
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