Asia-Pacific stocks rise; Reserve Bank of New Zealand keeps rates unchanged
- Japan’s government on Tuesday decided to extend the Covid-19 state of emergency in Tokyo and other areas to Sept. 12, local news agency Kyodo News reported.
- The Reserve Bank of New Zealand announced Wednesday that it would keep its monetary settings unchanged.
CNBC/SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia were higher on Wednesday, with the Reserve Bank of New Zealand keeping interest rates unchanged despite expectations of a hike.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.59% to close at 27,585.91 while the Topix index climbed 0.44% on the day to 1,923.97. Japan’s government on Tuesday decided to extend the Covid-19 state of emergency in Tokyo and other areas to Sept. 12, local news agency Kyodo News reported.
Mainland Chinese stocks closed higher. The Shanghai composite gained 1.11% to 3,485.29 while the Shenzhen component rose 0.721% to 14,454.11. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was 0.35% higher, as of its final hour of trading.
South Korea’s Kospi closed 0.5% higher at 3,158.93. The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia lagged as it finished the trading day 0.12% lower at 7,502.10.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.46% higher.
RBNZ holds rate steady
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand announced Wednesday that it would keep its monetary settings unchanged, leaving the official cash rate at 0.25%. Analysts had expected that New Zealand could be the first advanced economy in Asia-Pacific to raise interest rates in the pandemic era of easy monetary policy.
In a release, the New Zealand central bank said the decision was “made in the context” of the government’s imposition of a nationwide lockdown. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the lockdown on Wednesday following the discovery of a Covid case in Auckland.
Following that decision, the New Zealand dollar traded at $0.692, following a drop from above $0.696 yesterday.
Overnight stateside, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 282.12 points to 35,343.28 while the S&P 500 slipped 0.71% to 4,448.08. The Nasdaq Composite shed 0.93% to 14,656.18.
| TICKER | COMPANY | NAME | PRICE | CHANGE | %CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .N225 | Nikkei 225 Index | NIKKEI | 27585.91 | 161.44 | 0.59 |
| .HSI | Hang Seng Index | HSI | 25867.01 | 121.14 | 0.47 |
| .AXJO | S&P/ASX 200 | ASX 200 | 7502.10 | -8.90 | -0.12 |
| .SSEC | Shanghai | SHANGHAI | 3485.29 | 38.31 | 1.11 |
| .KS11 | KOSPI Index | KOSPI | 3158.93 | 15.84 | 0.50 |
| .FTFCNBCA | CNBC 100 ASIA IDX | CNBC 100 | 10049.20 | -7.77 | -0.08 |
Currencies and oil
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 93.074 following a recent jump from below 92.8.
The Japanese yen traded at 109.57 per dollar, weaker than levels below 109.5 seen against the greenback yesterday. The Australian dollar was at $0.7261 as it struggles to recover after falling from above $0.732 earlier in the week.
Oil prices were higher in the afternoon of Asia trading hours, with Brent crude futures rising 0.78% to $69.57 per barrel. U.S. crude futures also gained 0.66% to $67.03 per barrel.
