Sentiments across the Asian region remained cautious and Asian counters snapped the day’s trade on the mixed note on Wednesday as investors awaited key policy meetings at the central banks of the United States and Japan this week. The US central bank is likely show that it is slightly more upbeat on the economy but in little hurry to raise borrowing costs, although investors wishing for clues on the prospect of a further monetary easing may be disappointed. While Japanese central bank will make its next rate decision on Friday, with market-players hoping for more easing measures to kick-start the stuttering economy, which is struggling to recover from last year's March 11 disasters. The BoJ has this year already pledged tens of billions of dollars to help businesses but economic growth remains anemic.
Meanwhile, Chinese benchmark garnered 0.75 percent, as property developers gained on expectations of further easing policies from the government while start-up companies listed on the ChiNext board rebounded after recent sharp losses while, Japanese Nikkei advanced about a percentage point, snapping recent losses, as investors cheered strong US corporate results from the likes of Apple.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 2,406.81 | 17.98 | 0.75 |
Hang Seng | 20,646.29 | -30.87 | -0.15 |
Jakarta Composite | 4,163.64 | -6.71 | -0.16 |
KLSE Composite | 1,579.35 | -2.93 | -0.19 |
Nikkei 225 | 9,561.01 | 92.97 | 0.98 |
Straits Times | 2,979.78 | 5.41 | 0.18 |
Seoul Composite | 1,961.98 | -1.44 | -0.07 |
Taiwan Weighted | 7,563.18 | 64.34 | 0.86 |