Asian stocks fell on Thursday, reports Bloomberg, led by consumer companies and banks, after South Korea said it was “unclear” whether the economic rebound will be sustained and New Zealand’s unemployment rate rose to a nine-year high. Futures on the S&P500 Index slipped 0.5% after the gauge rose 0.1% on Wednesday as the Federal Reserve said it will keep interest rates near zero for “an extended period”.
Asian markets (Thurs)
04:15 GMT
Nikkei225 down 122.89 (-1.25%) 9,721.42
Topix down 7.70 (-0.87%) at 873.57
Hang Seng down 186.94 (-0.86%) at 21,427.83
US markets (Wed)
S&P 500 up 1.09 (0.10%) at 1,046.50
DJIA up 30.23 (0.31%) at 9,802.14
Nasdaq down 1.80 (-0.09%) at 2,055.52
European markets (Wed)
Eurofirst 300 up 15.71 (1.62%) at 984.64
FTSE100 up 70.68 (1.40%) at 5,107.89
Currencies
04:10 GMT
€/$ 1.4834 (1.4727)
$/¥ 90.35 (90.25)
£/$ 1.6569 (1.6409)
Commodities (continuous)
04:08 GMT
Brent Crude (ICE) down $0.62 at $78.27
Light Crude (Nymex) down $0.57 at $79.83
100 Oz Gold (Comex) up $0.20 at $1,087.50
Copper (Comex) down $2.30 at $297.00
10-year government bond yields (%)
04.12 GMT
US 3.51 (3.47)
UK 3.79 (3.72)
Germany 3.32 (3.28)
Japan 1.43 (1.38)
Sources: FT, Reuters, Bloomberg
