Asian stocks turn negative, BOE eyed

The stocks on the Asian bourses kicked-off Thursday on a stronger footing after the Fed appeared in no rush to hike rates immediately, which limited any scope of upside in the US dollar.

However, sentiment soon soured and the region’s indices dropped into negative territory, led by declines in the Japanese stocks, as the yen clung onto post-FOMC gains against the greenback. The FOMC turned out to be a non-event, with the committee sticking to its slightly upbeat economic outlook on the US economy.

Further, weaker oil prices also dampened the sentiment around energy and resource sector stocks. Attention now turns towards the BOE’s ‘Super Thursday’ for fresh incentives on the overall market sentiment.

Meanwhile, the Japanese benchmark, the Nikkei 225 index trades -0.64% lower at 19,011. The Australian benchmark, ASX 200 index drops -0.10% to 5,648 points. Hong Kong markets decline -0.55% to 23,190. Markets in China remain closed until Friday for the long Lunar New Year holidays.