Asia-Pacific mixed, Hang Seng rallies 300 points
Stock exchanges across Asia-Pacific region were mixed in the afternoon trading on Thursday as investors digested the Federal Reserve's call to hike interest rates by a quarter-point despite the recent turmoil in the banking sector. The markets appeared to struggle for direction after US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that the government is not considering insuring all uninsured bank deposits.
Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped 0.17%, and the Australian S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.67%. South Korea's Kospi was flat at 7:18 am CET. In mainland China, the Shenzhen Composite rose 0.64%, while Shanghai Composite added 0.35%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng rallied 1.52% or 300 points, with Tencent Holdings Ltd. surging 7.72% after posting its fourth-quarter financial report. The dollar declined 0.54% against Japanese yen, to sell at ¥130.74800 at 7:22 am CET.