Asian Stocks Diverge as Divided Fed Leaves Global Stocks Guessing
Asian markets traded without clear direction on Thursday. Investors weighed a divided Federal Reserve decision against fresh volatility in South Korean equities.
Japan's Nikkei 225 climbed nearly one percent, trading above 62,000. South Korea's KOSPI slipped about one percent, extending a stretch that has erased a large share of the index's value since its June peak.
A Divided Fed Leaves Rates Unclear
The Fed voted 9 to 3 on Wednesday to hold its benchmark rate at 3.5% to 3.75%. Three regional presidents, Cleveland's Beth Hammack, Minneapolis's Neel Kashkari and Dallas's Lorie Logan, dissented in favor of a hike.
The split marked the most contested vote of Chair Kevin Warsh's short tenure. Warsh again declined to signal the central bank's next move, and that ambiguity pushed 30-year Treasury yields to their highest level since 2007.
Traders responded by sending the Dow to its worst session in over a year. Bitcoin and gold, meanwhile, climbed on the split vote.
Korea's Selloff Deepens as Chipmakers Wobble
South Korea remains the epicenter of the regional selloff. The KOSPI plunged nearly six percent on Wednesday, triggering a circuit breaker for a second straight session and prompting an emergency market meeting.
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