Asian markets closed mostly in green on Friday, following a second successive rally on Wall Street. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) stated that China will continue to push for the yuan’s inclusion in the International Monetary Fund’s currency basket, known as Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). China will also encourage foreign central banks to include yuan assets in their forex reserves. China’s fiscal expenditure rose 2.6 percent to 1.31 trillion yuan ($211 billion) in May year on year, easing from a 33.2 percent jump in April. The Finance Ministry stated that central government spending rose 8.6 percent from a year ago, slowing from 19.7 percent in April, while local government expenditure grew 1.2 percent, a sharp drop from 36.7 percent in April. Indonesia’s Finance Minister stated that the country will halve lending rates for some small businesses, as part of efforts to revive growth in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy. Bambang Brodjonegoro confirmed reports that lending rates for small businesses would be cut to 12 percent from 24 percent. Japan’s industrial production rose to a seasonally adjusted 1.2%, from 1.0% in the preceding month while Japanese tertiary industry activity index fell to a seasonally adjusted -0.2%, from -1.0% in the preceding month.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 5,166.35 | 44.76 | 0.87 |
Hang Seng | 27,280.54 | 372.69 | 1.39 |
Jakarta Composite | 4,935.82 | 7.00 | 0.14 |
KLSE Composite | 1,734.37 | -0.39 | -0.02 |
Nikkei 225 | 20,407.08 | 24.11 | 0.12 |
Straits Times | 3,353.85 | 6.18 | 0.18 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,052.17 | -4.44 | -0.22 |
Taiwan Weighted | 9,301.93 | -0.56 | -0.01 |