The Asian indices ended mostly in green on Monday, after board minutes from Bank of Japan raised questions about the scope of government bond buying and broad market support. The markets in China and Taiwan remain closed for the Lunar New Year holiday. Some of Bank of Japan board members stated that the pace of massive Japanese government bond buying may need to stop before reaching a 2% sustained inflation goal, according to minutes published of the January meeting. The board members also added that falling oil prices should be reflected in inflation expectations, but that the underlying trend of moving from a deflation mindset is progressing steadily. It was the first time that board members had referred to the feasibility of continuing the key part of its nearly two-year-old quantitative and qualitative easing (QQE). Japan’s All Industries Activity Index fell to a seasonally adjusted -0.3%, from 0.0% in the preceding month whose figure was revised down from 0.1%.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | - | - | - |
Hang Seng | 24,836.76 | 4.68 | 0.02 |
Jakarta Composite | 5,403.28 | 3.17 | 0.06 |
KLSE Composite | 1,809.39 | 1.52 | 0.08 |
Nikkei 225 | 18,466.92 | 134.62 | 0.73 |
Straits Times | 3,421.30 | -14.36 | -0.42 |
KOSPI Composite | 1,968.39 | 6.94 | 0.35 |
Taiwan Weighted | - | - | - |