Asian Markets Eagerly Await Federal Reserve Meeting Data

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By Jacob Maslow

Asian shares remained mixed on Thursday as investors wait for the Federal Reserve meeting on interest rates next week. Sydney and Tokyo both suffered losses, with the S&P/ASX 200 closing the day down 0.84%, and the Shanghai composite index ending the day down 0.46%. The Nikkei 225 suffered the biggest losses, ending the day down 1.32%.

Australia released employment data that showed positive gains in the country’s job market in the month of November. There were a total of 71,400 jobs gained on the month, with an unemployment rate of just 5.8%. Analysts expected a 6% unemployment rate for the month of November. Australia’s annual MRI inflation for December is 4%, up from 3.5% in November.

New Zealand announced an official cash basis cut of 25 points, down to 2.5%.

Japan released data that their corporate goods prices for November dropped for the eighth month straight, down 0.1%.

United States stocks also fell for the third straight session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) closed Wednesday, down 0.43% despite strong morning activity. The index has since recovered, up 0.49% on Thursday during mid-morning trading. The NASDAQ composite index is also up 0.41% on Thursday following a loss of 1.48% on Wednesday. Technology stocks from Facebook (FB), Amazon (AMZN), Netflix (NFLX) and Google (GOOGL) dropped a combined 1% on Wednesday.

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