Asian shares subdued, yen and yuan hover near 8-mth troughs

Asian shares were sudued on Thursday after global central banks reaffirmed their inflation-fighting resolve, warning rates may need to rise further, while the yen and the Chinese yuan struggled to lift from lows amid fears of official intervention.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) was flat, while markets in Singapore, India and Malaysia are closed for holidays. Chinese blue chips (.CSI300) slid 0.3% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index (.HSI) fell 0.7%.

Japan’s Nikkei (.N225), however, gained 1% and was headed for a monthly rise of 8.5% and a quarterly jump of 19%.

The offshore yuan hovered near an eight-month trough at 7.24 per dollar on Thursday, after the central bank fixed the daily guidance at the weakest level since November.

Overnight, U.S. shares were mixed. The Nasdaq (.IXIC) managed a small gain with support from tech stocks, with Apple registered a record closing high, while the Dow (.DJI) closed slightly lower.

This report’s information was first seen on REUTERS; to read more, click this link.