AlHijjah 26, 1434, Oct 31, 2013, SPA -- Asian stocks were mostly lower Thursday, spooked by concerns that the Federal Reserve may start withdrawing its economic stimulus from January, AP reported. In its latest policy statement, the U.S. central bank said Wednesday it will continue buying $85 billion in bonds every month and keep its benchmark short-term interest rate near zero. The bond purchases are designed to keep borrowing costs low to encourage hiring and investment. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1.1 percent to 14,337.24 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was off 0.6 percent at 23,175.29. China's Shanghai Composite shed 0.7 percent to 2,145.49 and Seoul's Kospi lost 1.3 percent to 2,032.29. Benchmarks in Jakarta, Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia also fell. In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude for December delivery was down 28 cents at $96.49 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.43 to close at $96.77 on Wednesday. The euro fell to $1.3699 from $1.3722 late Wednesday. The dollar fell to 98.30 yen from 98.57 yen.
