Asia report: Most markets lower after Fed minutes release

Markets in Asia finished mostly lower on Thursday, as investors spent much of the session digesting the latest Federal Reserve minutes out of the US overnight, which flagged further rate hikes in the land of the free.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was off 0.8% at 22,658.16, as the yen strengthened 0.15% against the dollar to last trade at JPY 112.48.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was down 2.94% at 2,486.42, and the smaller, technology-heavy Shenzhen Composite slid 2.74% to 1,232.01.

South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.89% to 2,148.31, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong slipped 0.03% to settle at 25,454.55.

Of the blue-chip technology stocks in Seoul, SK Hynix was down 2.41% by end-of-play.

Investors on the peninsula were also sated as the Bank of Korea stood pat on interest rates, as was widely expected.

Oil prices were lower, with Brent crude last down 1.46% to $78.90 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate falling 1.35% to $68.82.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 managed gains of 0.06% to 5,942.40, with the hefty financials subindex rising 0.45%.

The energy sector was down 0.15%, paring back some earlier losses, while materials slipped 0.67%.

Fresh data out of Canberra showed employment numbers in the sunburnt country fell short of forecasts in September, with the unemployment rate falling 0.3% to 5%.

Across the Tasman Sea, the S&P/NZX 50 was down just 0.01% to 8,910.59, led lower by A2 Milk, which was 1.7% lower.

That took some of the shine off fast food operator Restaurant Brands, which surged 14% to a record close after it received an offer from Finaccess Capital of Mexico for 75% of the company.

Both of the down under dollars were stronger on the greenback, as the Aussie moved ahead 0.46% to AUD 1.4002, and the Kiwi advanced 0.28% to NZD 1.5224.