Investing.com – Asian stocks slid lower on Thursday after the Federal Reserve hinted that it may slow its bond-buying activities or halt the program, sending traders fleeing riskier assets and into safe-havens such as the U.S. dollar.
In Asian trading Thursday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.25% amid a volatile session for USD/JPY. The yen is currently trading modestly higher against the greenback after a Japanese newspaper reported that former Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Kazumasa Iwata and Asian Development Bank leader Haruhiko Kuroda are seen as the leading candidates to become the next BoJ governor.
That media report would also, though indirectly, confirm speculation that former BoJ Deputy Governor Toshiro Muto is no longer a top candidates to lead the central bank. Muto appears to fallen off the government’s list of candidates in recent days.
Hong Kong’s Hang Sang tumbled 1.81% and the Shanghai Composite plunged 2.74% after China said it will initiate property curbs aimed at cooling what some there see as an overheated property market. China has taken similar steps in the past and is again looking to temper real estate speculation.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index slid 1.7% following a glum profit outlook from energy retailer Orion Energy. AUD/USD weakened as traders dumped riskier currencies following the FOMC minutes.
Indicating that risk on assets are not in style today, New Zealand’s NZSE 50 slid 1.04% even after Reserve Bank Governor Graeme Wheeler sounded a positive tone regarding the central bank’s possible intervention in the currency market to weaken the kiwi. Wheeler was clear to note he wants any intervention efforts to make a difference and that RBNZ would intervene "when circumstances are right."
Wheeler made the remarks on Wednesday before the Manufacturers and Exporters Association. Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.56% a day after what was one of its best performances of 2013. Singapore’s Straits Times Index dropped 0.58%. S&P 500 futures gave up 0.09%.