Japan leads losses in Asia as investors assess Fed minutes; India stocks rise

Japan’s Nikkei led losses in Asia-Pacific markets Thursday, as the country resumed trading after an extended New Year’s holiday during which it witnessed an earthquake and an accident involving Japan Airlines. The benchmark Nikkei 225 shed 0.76%, while the broader Topix edged up 0.32% as Japan kicks off its first day of trade in 2024. Markets in Asia also took cues from global stocks after minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s meeting in December showed interest rate cuts were likely in 2024, but provided little clarity on when that might happen. Stocks in India, however, bucked the trend, with the Nifty 50 index adding 0.4% in its first hour of trading after falling for two straight sessions. South Korea’s Kospi was down 1.02%, and the small-cap Kosdaq was lower by 0.98%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 retreated further from Wednesday, losing 0.35%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index shed 0.45%, while China’s CSI 300 index fell 1.4%. On Friday in the U.S., all three major indexes lost ground after the Fed minutes revealed officials concluded that interest rate cuts were likely in 2024, though they appeared to provide little in the way of when that might occur. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.76%, while the broad-market S&P500 lost 0.8%. The Nasdaq Composite lost 1.18%, marking its fourth consecutive losing day.