Stock market today: Asian stocks gain after Wall St's latest record. Bank of Japan keeps policy lax
Asian shares are mostly gaining after Wall Street built on its all-time high reached last week, while Japan's central bank has kept its easy credit policy intact
BANGKOK — Asian shares mostly rose Tuesday after Wall Street built on its all-time high reached last week, while Japan’s central bank kept its easy credit policy intact.
Shanghai’s benchmark extended its losses, but Hong Kong’s jumped 2.5%. U.S. futures were flat and oil prices edged lower.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index added 0.3% to 36,637.03, nudging closer to its all-time record set in 1989, before the implosion of a financial bubble that ushered in an era of slowing growth.
The Bank of Japan cited “extremely high uncertainties surrounding economies and financial markets at home and abroad” in saying it would continue its ultra-lax monetary policy, with its benchmark interest rate staying at minus 0.1%.
A policy statement also said the central bank “will not hesitate to take additional easing measures if necessary.”
Speculation that the BOJ would end the negative interest rate policy, put in place to spur spending and investment, has pulled the Japanese yen sharply lower. As of Tuesday morning, the U.S. dollar bought 147.94 yen, down slightly from 148.11 yen late Monday.
Investors disappointed by China's decision to keep the loan prime rate unchanged kept selling in Shanghai, where the Composite index shed 0.4% to 2,746.74. It fell 2.7% on Monday.
But Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 2.5% to 15,336.26, helping make up for losses this year that stood at about 12% as of Monday's close.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea's Kospi rose 0.4% to 2,473.97 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.6% to 7,524.50.
Bangkok's SET was nearly unchanged.
On Monday, the S&P 500 added
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