Traders are keeping a close eye on next week's central bank policy-setting meeting in the U.S.
Asian markets settled mostly lower, as caution set in ahead of
next week's big central bank meeting in the U.S. While expectations were high that a policy change was on the table,
recent volatility in Chinese markets has raised questions over whether or not the Fed will raise interest rates for
the first time since 2006.
By the close, South Korea's Kospi shed 1.1% amid
a round of profit-taking, after the Bank of Korea's decision to stand pat on its current monetary policy. Elsewhere, Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.3% and Japan's Nikkei gave back 0.2%. China's Shanghai Composite managed to eke out a 0.07% gain, and notched its first weekly advance in roughly a month.
European benchmarks are staring at midday losses, with traders taking profits off the table before next week's highly anticipated Fed announcement. Also weighing on sentiment are abandoned merger plans between Telenor ASA and TeliaSonera AB, which has prompted a big sell-off in the telecom sector. At last check, the German DAX and the French CAC 40 are flirting with 0.7% losses, while London's FTSE 100 is off 0.3%.
