Japan markets reverse losses after BOJ decision; other markets mixed

Soegeefx AppsAsia MarketJapan markets reverse losses after BOJ decision; other markets mixed

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Lim Hui Jie

KEY POINTS

  • The Bank of Japan kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged on Friday, but indicated it’s considering the reduction of its purchase of Japanese government bonds.
  • Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 rose to post a fourth consecutive record close as traders weighed more data showing inflation pressures may be easing.

Asia-Pacific markets were mixed after the Bank of Japan kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged on Friday, but indicated it’s considering the reduction of its purchase of Japanese government bonds.

The central bank left short-term rates unchanged at between 0% to 0.1% as widely expected, but said it could reduce its purchases of Japanese government bonds after the next monetary policy meeting, scheduled for July 30 and 31.

The BOJ currently aims to purchase about 6 trillion yen ($38.5 billion) in bonds per month, and has informed the market of plans to purchase between 4.8 trillion yen and 7 trillion yen of bonds per month.

TICKER  COMPANY  NAME  PRICE  CHANGE  %CHANGE 
.N225 Nikkei 225 Index *NIKKEI 39008.05 287.58 0.74
.HSI Hang Seng Index *HSI 17991.04 -121.59 -0.67
.AXJO S&P/ASX 200 *ASX 200 7726.6 -23.1 -0.3
.SSEC Shanghai *SHANGHAI 3017.67 -11.25 -0.37
.KS11 KOSPI Index *KOSPI 2765.91 11.02 0.4
.FTFCNBCA CNBC 100 ASIA IDX *CNBC 100 9714.16 -31.63 -0.32

Japan’s Nikkei 225 reversed losses to gain 0.73% after the BOJ decision, while the Topix was 0.78% higher.

South Korea’s Kospi was 0.32% higher, and the small cap Kosdaq was 1.14% lower.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.29%.

Hong Kong Hang Seng index was down 0.67%, while the CSI 300 on mainland China slipped 0.4%.

Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 rose to post a fourth consecutive record close as traders weighed more data showing inflation pressures may be easing.

The broad market index climbed 0.23% to end at 5,433.74, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.34% and closed at 17,667.56. Thursday marked the fourth straight closing record for both S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the underperformer, slipping 0.17%.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit record levels this week, boosted by fresh data showing signs of inflation pressures cooling.

Source : cnbc

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