Asian stocks under pressure on Fed’s cautious stance

The Asian equity markets erased early gains and turned in the negative territory as investors cast doubt over Fed rate hike prospects this year, following Fed’s status quo and lowering of the economic forecasts, with the dot plot projections suggesting only one Fed rate hike in 2016.

Hence, amid uncertainty over Fed’s outlook coupled with looming Brexit concerns, markets give up risky assets such as stocks at the expense of the safe-havens such as the yen. The yen’s relative strength appears to weigh on the exporters’ stocks. While a retreat in the oil prices also dampen the sentiment around the energy and resource stocks.

Asia awaits Fed

The Japanese benchmark index, the Nikkei 225 slumps -1.34% to 15,705, as USD/JPY extends the drop to 105.50 levels ahead of the BOJ policy decision. The Australian markets are seen paring gains, with the ASX 200 index now trading +0.34% higher at 5,165.

While the Chinese equities also trade weaker, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite index trading -0.20% below 2,900 levels, the CSI300 index drops -0.15% to 3,111. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng sinks -1.87%, although manages to hold 20k mark.