Asian stocks down as investors await Fed decision

Investors are waiting for a decision from the US Federal Reserve.


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By :  ,  Financial Analyst

Stock markets across Asia were mixed today (October 29th) as investors became increasingly cautious ahead of the next announcement by the US Federal Reserve.

Amid speculation the Fed could begin a tapering of its quantitative easing scheme in the next few days, Hong Kong and China markets moved higher.

Michael Hanson, US economist at BofA Merrill Lynch, told the Financial Times that he does not believe the tapering process will begin this year.

He said: "The partial federal government shutdown did not just delay major data releases and trim several tenths from expected fourth-quarter gross domestic product growth."

While Hong Kong and China markets grew today, the Nikkei slipped one per cent before erasing most of those losses to end the day 0.1 per cent lower.

The Nikkei had got the new week off to a good start yesterday when it increased in value by 2.2 per cent, cancelling out some of the 2.8 per cent losses sustained on Friday.

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