Asian stocks fell after two days of optimism, due to the Fed's announcement that the monthly bond purchase program (worth $85 billion) would end this year. In contrast, the Japanese stock market began to rise after two days of closure for the holidays.
On the corporate front, Rio Tinto, the world's second largest mining group, fell 1,2% in Sydney as metal prices fell. Conversely, Toyota Motor rose 4,6% on the day the yen fell to its lowest level against the dollar since July 2010, boosting exporters' hopes. Japan Exchange Group, on the other hand, fell 9% on its debut on the stock exchange after the merger between Osaka Securities Exchange and Tokyo Stock Exchange Group.
More broadly, the MSCI Asia Pacific Excluding Japan Index fell 0,5% to 475.98 as of 10:04am in Hong Kong. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average jumped 2,7% on its first trading day for 2013 to head for its highest close since March 2011.
“The past teaches us that recessions have often happened because stimulus season ended too early and before growth took on its own” explains James Lindsay, equity fund manager at Tyndall Investment Management (Auckland). “US economic data is still not entirely clear”
