Asian stocks follow Wall Street's rate-cut rally higher, as BOJ stands pat
Asian stocks have surged, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 index leading gains after Wall Street romped to records following the Federal Reserve’s big cut to interest rates
HONG KONG — Asian stocks surged on Friday with Japan’s Nikkei leading regional gains after Wall Street romped to records following the Federal Reserve’s big cut to interest rates.
U.S. futures and oil prices were lower.
The Bank of Japan ended a two-day monetary policy meeting and announced it would keep its benchmark rate unchanged at 0.25%.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index soared 2.1% to 37,935.58 after the nation's key inflation data in August accelerated for a fourth consecutive month. The core consumer price index rose 2.8% year-on-year in August, exceeding the central bank’s 2% target and leaving room for further rate hikes.
Markets are closely watching for hints on the pace of future rate hikes from BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda.
“For the BOJ, given current economic conditions and recent central bank rhetoric, further policy adjustments are not expected until later this year or early 2025,” Anderson Alves of ActivTrades said in a commentary.
The U.S. dollar fell to 142.32 Japanese yen from 142.62 yen. The euro rose to $1.1166 from $1.1161.
China refrained from further monetary stimulus as the central bank left key lending rates unchanged on Friday. The one-year loan prime rate (LPR), the benchmark for most corporate and household loans, stays at 3.45%, and the five-year rate, a reference for property mortgages, was held at 3.85%.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 1.1% to 18,206.68 while the Shanghai Composite index fell 0.2% at 2,729.69.
Elsewhere, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.2% to 8,209.70. South Korea's Kospi was up 0.8% to 2,600.29.
On Thursday, the S&P 500
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