Currency traders watch monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, March 14, 2024. Asian shares mostly declined Thursday in lackluster trading after U.S. stocks drifted to a mixed finish.A currency trader passes by the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index , left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 reversed course from earlier losses and finished at 38,807.38, up 0.3%. Nissan Motor Co. stock jumped 2.2% after an unconfirmed Japanese media report that theSydney’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.2% to 7,713.60. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.9% to 2,718.76. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.7% to 16,961.66, while the Shanghai Composite fell 0.2% to 3,038.23.Native groups sit on a treasure trove of lithium.
But the expectation is still for the Fed to begin cutting rates in June, because the longer-term trend for inflation seems to remain downward. The Fed’s main interest rate is at its highest level since 2001, and reductions would release pressure on the economy and financial system.