Shanghai stocks tumble, other Asian stocks clam
By YOUKYUNG LEE, Associated Press
Nov 23, 2017 1:11 AM CST
Currency traders watch monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 23, 2017. Asian stock markets were largely flat on Thursday with investors in the U.S. markets going on a Thanksgiving holiday and the Fed minutes largely in line...   (Associated Press)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Stocks in Shanghai fell sharply but in rest of Asia, markets were calm Thursday after the Fed minutes largely met investor expectations that it will soon raise interest rates for a third time next month.

KEEPING SCORE: China's Shanghai Composite Index sank 2 percent to 3,359.92, its lowest level since August, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slipped 0.4 percent to 29,886.99. South Korea's Kospi finished flat at 2,540.71 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 also finished unchanged at 5,986.20. Stocks in Singapore and other Southeast Asian countries were mixed. Japan was closed on a holiday.

FED: Minutes of the Fed's last meeting that ended Nov. 1 showed that most officials generally believe that it'll soon be time for another increase in the Fed's key interest rate. A few Fed leaders think rates should stay where they are until there is more evidence inflation is rising, showing the concerns that the U.S. inflation is falling short of expectations despite the jobless rate falling to the lowest level in nearly 17 years. But the minutes did not change expectations for a December rate hike, analysts said.

ANALYST'S TAKE: While the minutes did not surprise markets, "the statement does clear the air of one raging debate, and that's 2018 rate hikes unambiguously depend more pressingly on inflation than on growth," said Stephen Innes, head of Asia trading at OANDA.

WALL STREET: U.S. stocks finished mostly lower on Wednesday retreating from their latest record highs. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dipped 1.95 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,597.08. The Dow Jones industrial average slid 64.65 points, or 0.3 percent, to 23,526.18. The Nasdaq composite rose 4.88 points, or 0.1 percent, to a record 6,867.36. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks lost 2.13 points, or 0.1 percent, to 1,516.76. U.S. markets will be closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday. They will reopen Friday but will close at 1 p.m. ET.

OIL: The price of oil retreated after a jump on reports that key oil producers might extend the cuts in production they made at the start of this year. U.S. crude fell 11 cents to $57.91 per barrel on New York Mercantile Exchange. On Wednesday, the contract rose $1.19, or 2.1 percent, to $58.02 a barrel. Brent crude, used to price international oils, lost 11 cents to $63.21 per barrel in London. It gained 75 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $63.32 a barrel.

CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 111.26 yen from 111.24 yen. The euro rose to $1.1829 from $1.1819.

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