20th March 2014
The Nikkei 225 index has fallen to its lowest level in six weeks today (March 20th), following comments from Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen.
Asian markets took their lead from Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 each closed lower following the US central bank's decision to further taper its quantitative easing (QE) programme, reducing its monthly asset purchases to $55 billion.
These losses were accentuated after the subsequent news conference, in which Ms Yellen indicated the Fed is looking to lift interest rates around six months after the end of QE - which is expected to be concluded by the end of the year.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei dropped on the back of a stronger yen. Japan's benchmark index closed down by 1.65 per cent at 14,224.23 points.
Ongoing concerns regarding the Chinese economy weighed on shares in the region, with the Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite shedding 1.85 per cent and 1.4 per cent respectively.
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