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Kuala Lumpur - Most Asian equities retreated as energy shares fell and investors absorbed details of the US Federal Reserve’s most recent meeting.
The MSCI AC Asia Pacific Index lost 0.2% as of 10:35, swinging between losses and gains earlier. The benchmark Asian stocks gauge has declined 0.4% this week.
Energy companies were the biggest drag to the gauge as JXTG dropped 2.1% in Tokyo, offsetting gains in health-care stocks. Equities from Japan to Singapore and Australia fell, while those in India, Indonesia and the Philippines advanced.
Oil recovered some losses after slumping toward $45 a barrel and snapping eight days of gains. The Fed minutes signaled that policy makers are lacking a consensus about when to shrink its balance sheet and how to approach strategy in a time of low inflation.
“With the mixed tone from the minutes and the essential delay to the announcement of balance sheet reduction timing, there is no surprise why we are seeing the muted reaction from the markets,” said Jingyi Pan, a market strategist at IG Asia Pte.
“The Fed’s rhetoric still points towards confidence in economic conditions, and a third rate hike this year is still very much expected even as the timing remains in question.”
Fosun International pared declines of as much as 4.5% in Hong Kong after the company’s group quashed speculation over the chairperson's whereabouts and said operations are normal. Noble surged 32% in Singapore amid speculation that an investor may be building a stake.
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