Asian stocks tumble on weak US data
Fresh data showed the US economy only expanded by 0.2 per cent in Q1.
Asian stocks tumbled today (April 30th) after Japan's central bank said it wouldn't expand its monetary stimulus, as investors worried about the state of the US economy.
Overnight, the US Federal Reserve said it kept its zero interest rate policy unchanged following weak first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data. The statement did not offer any clues as to when the Fed would start raising interest rates.
Fresh data showed the US economy expanded by only 0.2 per cent in the first three months of the year, hampered by a strong dollar and low consumer spending during the harsh winter.
Meanwhile, Japan's central bank kept its monetary policy intact, dashing hopes for stimulus. Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said he remained upbeat about prospects for a "moderate recovery", despite recent weak manufacturing data.
Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 2.7 per cent to 19,520.01 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.9 per cent to 28,133.00. South Korea's Kospi dropped 0.7 per cent to 2,127.17 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged down 0.8 per cent to 5,790.00.
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