Asian stocks stall after Fed meeting, tech earnings
Asian stocks fluctuated on Thursday after the Federal Reserve held rates unchanged, with Chair Jerome Powell saying officials were not in a hurry to lower borrowing costs.
Shares in Japan opened slightly lower, weighing down a gauge of Asian equities despite a small gain for shares in Australia. Many of the region’s equity markets including China, South Korea and Taiwan remained closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.
The yen edged higher after a small gain against the dollar Wednesday. Treasuries were steady in early Asian trading after ending Wednesday’s session mostly unchanged as traders parsed tweaks to the Fed’s statement.
The Federal Open Market Committee kept the federal funds rate in a range of 4.25%-4.5%. In a statement, officials repeated that inflation remains “somewhat elevated” but removed a reference to it having made progress toward their 2% goal. Later, Powell clarified the reference to inflation was just a decision to shorten the sentence, rather than send any sort of meaningful signal.
“I find this hard to believe given that the Fed knows the market is hanging on its every phrase and wording,” said Win Thin, global head of markets strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co in New York.
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