TOKYO: Asian stock markets were mostly lower Tuesday after Japan kept its monetary policy unchanged ahead of a much anticipated U.S. Federal Reserve decision later this week on whether to raise interest rates.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.4 per cent to 18,045.76 and South Korea’s Kospi edged 0.1 per cent higher to 1,933.19. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.5 per cent to 21,467.58. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 1.4 per cent to 5,024.00 after the country’s prime minister was ousted in an internal party revolt. China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 2.5 per cent to 3,036.57. Shares were also lower in Singapore, Taiwan and Indonesia, but rose in New Zealand.
Japan’s central bank issued a statement saying it had not changed its policy calling for 80 trillion yen ($666 billion) in annual asset purchases by the central bank, to help spur inflation and stimulate growth. A small minority of experts had speculated the BOJ could spring a surprise increase in its asset purchases to combat recent recurring signs the recovery is faltering.
Trading has been light as investors looked ahead to a much-anticipated Federal Open Market Committee meeting later this week. Opinions are split over whether the Fed will raise its benchmark interest rate at the end of its two-day meeting on Thursday, given China’s slower economy and recent turbulence in financial markets.
“The highly-anticipated FOMC meeting continues to dominate market sentiments this week, although investors will monitor other events, including several central bank events and the Chinese markets,” Bernard Aw, a market strategist at IG, said in a commentary.
Major U.S. indexes opened higher Monday and then sank slowly through the rest of the day. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 8.02 points, or 0.4 per cent, to close at 1,953.03 and the Dow Jones industrial average gave up 62.13 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 16,370.96.
U.S. crude fell gained 20 cents to $44.20 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It lost 63 cents to close at $44 a barrel on Monday. Brent Crude, a benchmark for international oils, fell 3 cents to $48.22. It lost $1.77 on Monday to close at $46.37 a barrel in London. The dollar fell to 120.07 yen from 120.30 yen late Monday. The euro strengthened to $1.1327 from $1.1309.
