- Following the Federal Reserve's announcement that interest rates will remain higher for longer, Asian stocks declined and the dollar gained ground on Thursday.
- Benchmark indices dropped, and a regional equities measure is expected to experience its largest fall in nearly a month. The MSCI China Index dropped 1.4%, closing at its lowest level since November as concerns about the country's economic recovery persisted. Following losses on Wall Street, tech stocks fell more than 2% in Hong Kong, and contracts for US benchmarks dipped in Asian trading.
- Chinese real estate developers were one area of Asia that showed promise after new initiatives to relax the laws governing home purchases.
- James Wang, the Head of China Strategy at UBS' investment research division, stated on television that signs of improvement in Chinese real estate could push Chinese stocks higher given the significant declines this year.
- The yen, which traded at roughly 148 per dollar after falling on Wednesday to its lowest level since November, saw the dollar rise against other major currencies but remain unchanged versus it.
