Asian markets closed mixed on Wednesday, following a tepid lead from Wall Street while Shanghai was hit by news Chinese A shares would not yet be included in a global benchmark index of equities. Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda stated that aggressive easing will continue as financial markets and asset prices are not overheated. He added that there is no asset bubble in Japan at this point. The governor declined comment on daily fluctuations in the currency market but repeated foreign exchange rates must reflect economic fundamentals. Earlier, BoJ board member Takehiro Sato stated to business leaders in central Japan that there was no need to change the pace of government bond buying now around 80 trillion yen annually. Mitsuhiro Furusawa, deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated that policymakers in Asia need to put greater emphasis on growth-friendly fiscal policy to sustain growth momentum in the face of demographic changes that could weigh on their economies. Japan’s Corporate Goods Price Index remained unchanged at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of -2.1%. Japan’s Core Machinery Orders rose to 3.8%, from 2.9% in the preceding month. South Korean Unemployment Rate rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.9%, from 3.7% in the preceding month. Philippines Industrial Production fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of -4.2%, from 7.4% in the preceding month.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 5,106.04 | -7.50 | -0.15 |
Hang Seng | 26,687.64 | -301.88 | -1.12 |
Jakarta Composite | 4,933.56 | 33.68 | 0.69 |
KLSE Composite | 1,735.63 | 6.58 | 0.38 |
Nikkei 225 | 20,046.36 | -49.94 | -0.25 |
Straits Times | 3,325.77 | 30.64 | 0.93 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,051.32 | -12.71 | -0.62 |
Taiwan Weighted | 9,298.50 | 106.63 | 1.16 |