Asian indexes mixed, weighing prospects of fewer Fed hikes

TOKYO — Asian markets were mixed Friday, weighing prospects that the U.S. Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates as many times as some investors expect.

KEEPING SCORE: Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 edged down 0.3 per cent in morning trading to 19,523.27. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.3 per cent to 5,803.90. South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.3 per cent to 2,156.74. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng inched up 0.2 per cent to 24,345.66, while the Shanghai Composite shed 0.2 per cent to 3,262.42.

WALL STREET: The Standard & Poor’s 500 index slipped 3.88 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 2,381.38. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 15.55 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 20,934.55. The Nasdaq composite, meanwhile, rose 0.71 points, or 0.01 per cent, to 5,900.76. The Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks also rose slightly, up 3.20 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 1,386.03.

THE QUOTE: “Monetary tightening is probably an inevitable trend in the U.S., China, Europe and even Japan. Europe and Japan have already pushed quantitative easing to the extreme and there is not much room for further easing,” says Margaret Yang Yan, market analyst at CMC Markets Singapore. “So in the future, money will become more and more expensive to borrow.”