A currency trader passes by the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index , left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. Asian shares were mostly higher Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve indicated it may not need to pump the brakes any harder on Wall Street and the economy.
But the Shanghai Composite fell 0.5% to 3,009.41 after the central bank reported a decline in property loans, the first such drop since 2005. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank is unsure that its main interest rate is high enough to ensure high inflation will move down to its 2% target. That kept alive the possibility of more hikes by the Fed. He also said the Fed is not considering cuts to interest rates, which can act like steroids for financial markets.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude added $1.32 to $81.76 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, gained $1.23 to $85.86 a barrel.
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