- June 20, 2024
- By: Admin1_blog
- Asia Market, Indices
Charmaine Jacob@IN/CHARMAINEMARIAJACOB@CHARMAINEMJACOB & Lim Hui Jie
KEY POINTS
- China kept its one- and five-year loan prime rates unchanged at 3.45% and 3.95% respectively.
- New Zealand’s economy exited a technical recession, growing 0.2% quarter-on-quarter in the first three months of the year, beating Reuters poll expectations of a 0.1% expansion.
Asia-Pacific markets were mostly lower on Thursday as China kept its one- and five-year loan prime rates unchanged.
The one-year loan prime rate serves as a benchmark for most corporate and household loans, while the five-year rate serves as a peg for property mortgages. The one-year LPR currently stands at 3.45%, while the five-year LPR is at 3.95%.
Earlier this week, the People’s Bank of China kept the 1-year medium-term lending facility rate steady at 2.5%.
Mainland China’s CSI 300 dipped 0.49% after the announcement, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell by 0.48%.
Top losers in Hong Kong include hot pot chain Haidilao which plummeted 6.13%, as well as Shenzhou International Group and Budweiser Brewing Company APAC, which lost 4.31% and 3.73% respectively.
| TICKER | COMPANY | NAME | PRICE | CHANGE | %CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .N225 | Nikkei 225 Index | *NIKKEI | 38619.77 | 49.01 | 0.13 |
| .HSI | Hang Seng Index | *HSI | 18354.31 | -76.08 | -0.41 |
| .AXJO | S&P/ASX 200 | *ASX 200 | 7761.9 | -7.8 | -0.1 |
| .SSEC | Shanghai | *SHANGHAI | 3017.32 | -0.73 | -0.02 |
| .KS11 | KOSPI Index | *KOSPI | 2811.02 | 13.69 | 0.49 |
| .FTFCNBCA | CNBC 100 ASIA IDX | *CNBC 100 | 9876.58 | 0.93 | 0.01 |
South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.42%, while the small-cap Kosdaq slipped 0.41%. Shares of HMM, the country’s largest container ship, climbed more than 3%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.15% and the broad-based Topix slipped 0.36%.
The Taiwan Weighted Index touched new highs for the third day in a row and was up 0.43%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.15%. Shares of Mexican-themed fast food chain Guzman y Gomez rose as much as 3.91% after its market debut on the Australian Stock Exchange on Thursday.
Data out of New Zealand showed the economy exited a technical recession, growing 0.2% quarter-on-quarter in the first three months of the year and beating Reuters poll expectations of a 0.1% expansion. On a year-on-year basis, the economy grew 0.2%.
Futures for the S&P 500 added 0.29%, while Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 0.64%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pulled back 17 points, or 0.04%.
Source : cnbc
