Asia report: Most markets lower as Fed hints at rate rise

Asian markets finished mostly in the red on Thursday, after a mixed bag on Wall Street overnight as investors sifted through minutes from the latest Federal Open Market Committee meeting, which suggested a rates rise stateside was imminent.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 was almost flat, losing 0.04% to 19,371.46, with the yen slightly stronger against the greenback, last advancing 0.13% to JPY 113.16 per $1.

Carmaker Nissan confirmed it was appointing co-CEO Hiroto Saikawa to the role of CEO, effective 1 April, with current chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn set to continue his duties as chair and seek a renewal at the general meeting in June.

The firm’s shares finished down 0.58% in Tokyo.

Toshiba returned to its recently familiar position in the red, losing 4.32%, as it emerged South Korean firm SK Hynix was still hungry for its memory chip division, but only if Toshiba could give up a larger stake.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was 0.31% lower at 3,251.08, while the Shenzhen Composite was almost flat, closing at 1,991,98.

South Korea’s Kospi added 0.05% to go against the grain, settling at 2,107.63, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was 0.36% lower at 24,114.86.

In Seoul, it was reported SK Hynix was considering a renewed offer for Toshiba’s attractive memory chip business, should the cash-strapped Japanese conglomerate offer a larger chunk of it. SK Hynix’s shares were down 0.79%.

The Bank of Korea appeased market expectations and stood pat on interest rates, keeping them at 1.25%.

Oil was higher during Asian trading, after fresh data from the American Petroleum Institute overnight showed a fall in US inventories of 884,000 barrels in the week to 17 February. Expectations had been for an increase of around 3.5 million barrels.

Brent crude was last up 1.31% at $56.58 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate added 1.36% to $54.33.

Investors and currency traders were disappointed in early trading, with the dollar refusing to make the movements anticipated in the wake of the Fed minutes' release.

The dollar-spot index “reconsidered breaking above $101.74 resistance, yet its failure to do so for the second occasion in a week suggest potential for near-term weakness,” said ThinkMarkets senior market analyst Matt Simpson in a note.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.35% to 5.784.66, with falls of about 2% in the materials and utilities sub-indexes offsetting gains for most other sectors.

The major miners all finished lower, with BHP Billiton down 2.67%, Fortescue losing 2.58% and Rio Tinto off by 5.45%.

Flag-carrier Qantas led a day of Australasian airline earnings, posting a 7.5% fall in first-half underlying profit to AUD 852m for the six months through December.

That was still above the guidance the board provided in October, however, leading to a 5.35% rise in the firm’s shares by the end of trading in Sydney.

New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 added 0.4% to settle at 7,089.52, led higher by Air New Zealand, which also posted first-half earnings. The flag carrier reported a 24% drop in pre-tax profit to NZD 349m for the period, citing an increase in competition both domestically and on its global routes. Like Qantas, it still beat expectations, as it was expected to see a 45% decline in first-half earnings.

Subscription broadcaster Sky -- unrelated to the London-listed company of the same name -- tumbled 13% to reach its lowest level in almost eight years.

The country’s Commerce Commission announced its refusal to approve a merger between Sky and Vodafone’s New Zealand operation before markets opened, which would have seen Vodafone Group sell its local broadband, cable television and mobile assets to Sky before taking a 51% controlling interest in Sky, and bank NZD 1.49bn.

Sky indicated it was unlikely to appeal the decision, but did leave its options open around treating its sports broadcasting assets differently before applying again.

The regulator had said that if the Sky Sport network, which is Sky’s main breadwinner through its rugby broadcasting assets, was not included in the merger, it would likely have approved it.

It was a mixed picture for the down-under dollars, with the Aussie last 0.17% weaker at AUD 1.3004 against the greenback, and the Kiwi strengthening 0.06% to NZD 1.3898 per $1.