Asia markets mixed as China’s loan prime rates remain unchanged; Japan hits new 33-year highs

Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Monday as China kept its loan prime rates unchanged, as expected.

The Nikkei 225 hit a near 34-year high to end 1.62% higher at 36,546.95, while the broader Topix gained 1.39% to close at 2,544.92.

On the other hand, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 2.52%, led by real estate stocks after the People’s Bank of China left the one- and five-year loan prime rates left unchanged at 3.45% and 4.2%, respectively. China’s CSI 300 index ended 1.56% lower at 3,218.90.

The Bank of Japan kicked off its two-day monetary policy meeting today, and will announce its policy decision on Tuesday.

Japan will release its trade balance data for December on Tuesday and January inflation numbers for Tokyo on Friday.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 ended 0.75% higher at 7,476.60, extending gains from Friday and starting the week on a positive note.

South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.34% to close at 2,464.35 while the small-cap Kosdaq dropped 0.35% to 839.69.

South Korea will also release its gross domestic product figures for the fourth quarter of 2023 on Wednesday.

On Friday in the U.S., the S&P500 index rose 1.23% to settle at 4,839.81, crossing both the record intraday and closing highs from January 2022.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which set its own all-time high at the end of last year, added 1.05%, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.70%.

Source from CNBC: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/22/asia-markets.html