A city view seen from the Azabutaiyama Mori JP Building in Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan on November 24, 2023.
Ahmed Furkan | Anatolia | Getty Images
Wall Street stocks generally fell, and Asia-Pacific markets opened mixed on Thursday as the Federal Reserve cut borrowing rates for the third consecutive meeting and hinted at smaller rate cuts in the future.
Asian investors also Awaiting interest rate decision The decision came after the Bank of Japan’s two-day policy meeting. The central bank is expected to keep its target interest rate unchanged at 0.25%.
The yen strengthened slightly to 154.57 against the dollar on Thursday morning.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 Index The Chicago futures contract opened at 38,665 and the Osaka futures contract opened at 38,470, while the index last closed at 39,081.71.
Australian S&P/ASX 200 Index It opened down 0.64% that day.
At the same time, Hong Kong’s futures Hang Seng Index The Hang Seng Index closed at 19,873 points, and the opening price was stronger than the Hang Seng Index’s closing point of 19,864.55 points.
Overnight in America, Dow Jones Industrial Average It fell 1,123.03 points, or 2.58%, to 42,326.87 points, recording 10 consecutive losses for the first time since 1974. Broad S&P 500 Index Down 2.95% to 5,872.16 Nasdaq Index It fell 3.56% to 19,392.69.
The sell-off on Wall Street came after the central bank cut overnight borrowing rates by 10%. 25 basis points, with a target range of 4.25% to 4.5%. Although the rate cut was widely expected, the Fed said it would cut interest rates only twice in 2025, down from the four rate cuts previously forecast.
“We’ve gotten to this point very quickly, but I think our progress will obviously slow down as we look forward,” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said at a post-meeting press conference.
—CNBC’s Brian Evans and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this report.
