Asia-Pacific stocks mixed; Bank of Korea announces rate hike
SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed on Thursday as investors reacted to the Bank of Korea’s rate decision
South Korea’s Kospi dipped 0.47% to close at 2,980.27 after the Bank of Korea raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to 1%, a move that was largely expected by analysts in a Reuters poll
Following the decision, the Korean won traded 1,189.89 per dollar, weaker than levels around 1,185 seen against the greenback yesterday
The South Korean central bank’s decision followed a similar move by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand on Wednesday
Natixis’ Trinh Nguyen told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Thursday that the Bank of Korea is “ahead of the curve doing this because it can afford to do so,” given the economy’s upturn
“We see that given the expectations of higher rates by the U.S. and the hawkish minutes you saw by the Fed, this is a right move not just for South Korea but also to synchronize with the Fed cycle,” said Nguyen, a senior economist at the firm
Minutes released Wednesday from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s November meeting showed its members expressing concern over inflation and being willing to tighten policy should it continue running hot
| TICKER | COMPANY | NAME | PRICE | CHANGE | %CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .N225 | Nikkei 225 Index | *NIKKEI | 29499.28 | 196.62 | 0.67 |
| .HSI | Hang Seng Index | *HSI | 24740.16 | 54.66 | 0.22 |
| .AXJO | S&P/ASX 200 | *ASX 200 | 7407.3 | 7.9 | 0.11 |
| .SSEC | Shanghai | *SHANGHAI | 3584.18 | -8.52 | -0.24 |
| .KS11 | KOSPI Index | *KOSPI | 2980.27 | -14.02 | -0.47 |
| .FTFCNBCA | CNBC 100 ASIA IDX | *CNBC 100 | 10154.94 | 13.65 | 0.13 |
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index closed 0.22% higher at 24,740.16. Shares of developer Kaisa Group soared 13.86% as they returned from a trading halt. Kaisa on Thursday announced an offer to bondholders to exchange their existing bonds with new bonds that have an extended maturity
Mainland Chinese stocks closed lower, with the Shanghai composite shedding 0.24% to 3,584.18 and the Shenzhen component falling 0.401% to 14,827.95
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.67% to close at 29,499.28 while the Topix index advanced 0.33% to 2,025.69
Australian stocks nudged higher on the day, with the S&P/ASX 200 rising 0.11% to 7,407.30
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan nudged 0.05% higher
