Asian markets were mixed in early trading Thursday, as the Bank of Japan kept its ultra-easy monetary policy unchanged following the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest-rate cut.
The BOJ’s move — or lack thereof — was expected, though the central bank hinted that could cut interest rates even deeper into negative territory at its October meeting.
On Wednesday, the Fed lowered its benchmark interest rate by a quarter-point, and suggested it was open to another cut before the year’s end.
Japan’s Nikkei
rose 1% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index
fell 1%. The Shanghai Composite
inched up 0.1%, while the smaller-cap Shenzhen Composite
rose 0.5%. South Korea’s Kospi
advanced 0.4%. Stocks were about flat in Singapore
, and down in Taiwan
, Malaysia
and Indonesia
. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200
rose 0.7%.
Among individual stocks, Sony Financial
gained in Tokyo trading, along with semiconductor-equipment maker Advantest
and Tokyo Gas
. In Hong Kong, Apple suppliers AAC
and Sunny Optical
rose while AIA
and PetroChina
fell. Samsung
and SK Hynix
advanced in South Korea while Apple component maker Largan Precision
gained in Taiwan. After a big gain Wednesday, clothing retailer Kathmandu
retreated in Australia.
