Asian shares ease, dollar sees one-week peak

Asian share markets eased from high grounds on Thursday as the prospect of stimulus withdrawal dampened Chinese shares’ early performance.  The dollar, on the other hand, saw an increase to hit a one-week high.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan plunged 0.5%, placing below its record peak of 696.76 on Wednesday. Chinese shares met a choppy trade during their early session, sending the blue-chip index 0.2% lower.

 Australian shares traded flatly, while Japan’s benchmark index Nikkei plunged 0.8%. In currency markets, the dollar index remained firm at a one-week high of 90.152.

Global shares were boosted by massive volumes of stimulus that major central banks had rendered. Add to this are their efforts of maintaining ultra-loose policy rates to make any surge in inflation as transitory. However, hints of tapering from the Federal Reserve heavily dampened investors’ sentiment.