Asian shares showed mixed results in subdued trading after the Bank of Japan maintained its monetary policy stance.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.7% to 38,998.04 after the Bank of Japan announced plans to gradually reduce its government bond purchases, signaling a shift from its ultra-loose monetary policy. A “detailed plan” for the reduction over the next one to two years will be decided at the next policy meeting in July.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.3% to 7,724.70, while South Korea’s Kospi inched up 0.2% to 2,759.98. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.5% to 18,030.33, and the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.1% to 3,025.39.
In the US, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq achieved their fourth consecutive record closing highs yesterday. US Treasury yields reached their lowest levels since early April as investors balanced cooler-than-expected inflation data with the Federal Reserve’s moderated rate-cut expectations.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, consisting of 30 leading US companies, declined 0.2% to 38,647.04. In contrast, the S&P 500 increased 0.2% to 5,433.74, and the Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.3%, closing at 17,667.56.
Benchmark 10-year US Treasury bonds yielded 4.2442%, down from 4.295% late on Wednesday.
