Asian markets mostly lower

HONG KONG: Asian markets mostly fell on Friday after better-than-forecast US growth data added to expectations the Federal Reserve will start to wind down its stimulus programme as early as this month.

But while the strong figures raise the likelihood the central bank will ease up on its bond-buying, the dollar was unable to return to its upward trajectory against the yen.

Tokyo was 0.19 percent higher on bargain buying after losing more than 3.5 percent in the previous two sessions.

But Hong Kong sank 0.23 percent, Sydney lost 0.26 percent, Shanghai was 0.25 percent lower and Seoul was flat.

Investors followed the lead of their counterparts on Wall Street after the Commerce Department reported the US economy grew 3.6 percent in the third quarter, far above the 3.0 percent predicted by analysts.

Also Thursday, the Labor Department said first-time claims for unemployment benefits, a sign of the pace of layoffs, fell below 300,000 last week.

The figures are the latest pointing to a pick-up in the world’s top economy, raising the prospect of the Fed cutting its monetary easing scheme this month instead of early next year as previously flagged by analysts.