Asian Stock Market Showed Mixed Performance; Nikkei Slips As Yen Strengthens Against The Dollar

In today’s trading, Asian shares are mixed as the Nikkei stock index went down by over 3% hitting below the 38,000 level.

Written by: Sophia Cruz • Thursday, August 1, 2024 • 1 min read

• Last updated: Thursday, August 1, 2024

In today’s trading, Asian shares are mixed as the Nikkei stock index went down by over 3% hitting below the 38,000 level. This is after exporters took a hit from the yen’s brief rise to a four-month high in the 148 level against the US dollar after the Bank of Japan’s interest rate hike.

Asian Stock Market Showed Mixed Performance; Nikkei Slips As Yen Strengthens Against The Dollar

Nikkei 225 Stock average is now 3.08% lower, closing at 37,898.93, while the broader Topix index was down by 3.59% to close at 2,693.98.

Auto and electronics issues were sold heavily as a stronger yen reduced their overseas profits when repatriated. Real estate shares also fell sharply on concern that the BoJ’s rate hike would lead to higher mortgage rates and dampen housing demand.

The yen has attracted active buying since the BoJ governor signaled the possibility of a further interest rate hike during a press conference on Wednesday when the US Federal Reserve is seen as on course to cut rates in September.

Investors should stay vigilant for now, considering the fallout from the BoJ’s decisions and the focus on the Chinese economy.

Meanwhile, the Hang Seng index rose by 0.09% closing at 17,340.31 despite the Caixin Manufacturing PMI. A more dovish FOMC press conference and hopes for fiscal stimulus from Beijing offset the weak data from China. The Shanghai Composite is 0.2% lower closing at 2,933.81.

South Korea’s Kospi has increased by 0.3% closing at 2,777.68.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index advanced by 0.43%, driven by gold, mining, oil, and tech stock gains. Gold and oil prices rose on Wednesday boosting related sectors.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR See More

Sophia Cruz

Financial Writer - Asian & European Desks

Sophia is an experienced writer, reporter and newsdesk member, mostly on the financial sectors. For the past 5 years Sophia has covered a wide variety of topics such as the financial markets, economics, technology, fin-tech and trading. Sophia has been a part of the FX Leaders team since 2017 and works on producing valuable content and information for traders of all levels of experience.