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Asian shares steady amid Russia crisis | |
(about 5 hours later) | |
Asian stock markets held steady on Wednesday, although nerves over the rouble crisis in Russia led to investors seeking safer assets. | |
Yields on sovereign bonds hit yearly records, with yields on 30-year US Treasury bonds touching their lowest since late 2012 at 2.67%. | |
The yen - considered a haven currency in times of crisis - strengthened to 116.79 against the dollar. | |
Japan's Nikkei share index closed up 64.41 points at 16,819.73. | |
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down 64.37 points at 22,606.13 while the Shanghai Composite rose 17.58 points to 3,039.10. | |
In Australia, the ASX200 index ended the day up 9.62 points at 5,161.86, while the Kospi index in South Korea slipped 3.97 points to 1,900.16. | |
Investors have been on edge following the Russian central bank's dramatic attempt to prop up the value of the rouble by raising interest rates to 17% from 10.5%. | |
The move failed to work, with the rouble tumbling to a record low of 79 to the dollar, before recovering to about 68. | |
Investors will also be watching the latest announcement from the US Federal Reserve with keen interest. | |
There is speculation that the US central bank will end its commitment to keep interest rates low for a "considerable period". If that happens, it could lead to a flow of money out of emerging markets and in to the US. |