Major Asian stock markets also fell sharply in the first trading day of this week, following a sharp drop in the U.S. stock market last week in the wake of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s strong hawkish remarks.
As of 12:26 p.m. on the 29th, the KOSPI fell 2.30% from the previous trading day to 2,423.90, and the KOSDAQ is trading at 780.38, down 2.75% from the previous trading day.
Other major Asian stock markets also fell in the 2% range, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 2.76%, Taiwan’s self-propelled index falling 2.27%, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 falling 2.04%.
Mainland China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.16% and Shenzhen Component Index fell 0.04%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.70%, showing a relatively small drop in the Chinese stock market.
Not only the stock markets but also the Asian currency is weakening, and the dollar-based exchange rate is rising.
In the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won-dollar exchange rate rose 16.39 won (0.935 percent) to 1,347.91 won as of 11 a.m. from the previous day’s close.
The won-dollar exchange rate once hit 1,348.6 won during the day, breaking the existing intraday point (1,346.6 won) recorded on the 23rd in four trading days.
Amid concerns over the Chinese economy, the yuan/dollar exchange rate rose 0.988%, exceeding 6.9 yuan, putting pressure on the won.
The yen/dollar exchange rate rose 0.647% to 138.53 yen, the highest since the 21st of last month.
The weakness in the Asian asset market is attributed to Powell’s suggestion that he will maintain a high-intensity hike in the benchmark interest rate for the time being.
In a speech at the Jackson Hole meeting on the 26th (local time), Powell stressed that he would continue to raise interest rates until the Fed was confident that inflation was under control, adding cold water to the market that expected the Fed’s policy shift.
As a result, the Dow Jones 30 Industrial Average (-3.03%), the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (-3.37%), and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Index (-3.94%) fell sharply on the New York Stock Exchange on the same day.
While central banks in each country emphasize austerity, bitcoin prices, which have the largest market capitalization among virtual currencies, have collapsed again in about a month since the middle of last month, the psychological support level of $20,000.
According to the cryptocurrency information site Coin Market Cap, bitcoin prices once fell to 19,600.79 dollars in the morning of that day, but are currently fluctuating around 19,700 dollars.
