South Korea And Japan Fell 2 After Powell S Speech

Yuki Iwamura | AFP | Getty Images Asia-Pacific shares traded lower on Monday after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech in Jackson Hole on Friday. He warned that the rate hike would cause “some pain” in the US economy, saying the higher rates would likely be sustained “for some time”. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 2.9 percent and the Topix fell 2.1 percent. South Korea’s Kospi fell 2.2 percent and the Kosdaq fell 2.5 percent. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 2%. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.9 percent, while the Japanese yen traded at 138.27 yen per dollar. On Friday in the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,008 points, or 3.03%, to 32,283.40. The S&P 500 fell 3.37% to 4,057.66 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 3.94% to 12,141.71. “While higher interest rates, slower growth and softer labor market conditions will reduce inflation, they will also bring some pain to households and businesses,” Powell said. “That is the unfortunate cost of reducing inflation. But a failure to restore price stability would mean much greater pain.” He said the Fed’s decision in September “will depend on the totality of incoming data and the evolving outlook.”