Asian stocks were in a freefall Wednesday while investors waited for the U.S. Federal Reserve's announcement regarding its actions on interest rates. Markets in Hong Kong also closed early even as the city braced itself for the arrival of a tropical storm bearing down on it.
CNBC reported that the Nikkei 225 in Japan closed at 21,521.53 for a valuation of 0.86%. Shares of Fast Retailing, which was considered an "index heavyweight," also tumbled down to 1.96%.
The Topix index ended its trading day at 1565.14, a fall of 0.66%, even as Sony shares managed to stay above expected figures at 5.31% after posting a historic first-quarter profit as it closed on Tuesday.
Hong Kong's Hang Send index closed early for the day to give way to preparations for a tropical cyclone, with signals raised to the third alarm.
The index also slid down to 1.31% at 27,777.75 with shares of life insurance company AIA sliding down to 2%. Mainland Chinese stocks are still feeling the effects of disputes as the Shanghai composite tumbled to 2,932.51 and a rating of 0.67% while the Shenzhen composite fell to 9326.61 and a 0.77% rating.
On the other side of the world, U.S. equities fell uncontrollably while Treasury yields posted a strong surge as Jerome Powell's comments dashed any hopes of a "continued easing" after it delivered its first interest rate-cut after ten years or more, Bloomberg reported.
The S&P 500 Index slid down by as much as 1.8% after Powell said that the quarter-point cut was more of a "mid-term policy adjustment" than a long-term solution. Investors saw this as a warning that the central bank is not committed to easing down just yet.
The value managed to post a rebound after Powell cleared up his comments, saying that the Fed didn't completely rule out any further cuts for a close of 1.1%.
The week is about to close with two key events already done. The Fed cuts and trade talks may be over for now, but investors still are looking out for a more corporate talk, and Friday will also come with a collection of US jobs data to look out for.
Oil prices were also on the rise during the afternoon in Asia, with international benchmark Brent crude futures hiking prices by slapping 0.86% to close the prices at $65.28 per barrel. The US crude futures also heaped trouble, gaining 0.69% to create a $58.45 pricing per barrel.
