Asian markets trade mixed despite US Fed rate cut

Asian markets trade mixed despite US Fed rate cut

Asian markets were trading mixed on Wednesday despite the US Federal Reserve announcing an emergency rate cut. The Federal Reserve announced a pre-emptive rate cut of 50 basis points in one stroke. Effectively, the Fed rate range has now fallen from 1.50-1.75% to the new range of 1.00-1.25%.

China’s services Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 26.5 from 51.8 in January. The 50-point level in PMI readings separates growth from contraction.

South Korea’s Kospi jumped over 2%, the Shanghai Composite was slightly lower by 0.14%, the Nikkei 225 was 0.3% higher and the Topix index traded up by 0.12%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index is down 0.07% after the latest release of IHS Markit’s Hong Kong Purchasing Manager’s Index, which hit a record low of 33.1 in February.

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