Stock market today: World shares are mixed after Bank of Japan fine-tunes bond purchase policy
Shares in Europe and Asia are mixed after the Bank of Japan adjusted its bond purchase policy but kept its negative benchmark interest rate unchanged
BANGKOK — Shares in Europe and Asia were mixed on Friday after the Bank of Japan adjusted its bond purchase policy but kept its negative benchmark interest rate unchanged.
Paris, Frankfurt, Tokyo and Sydney fell while Hong Kong, London and Shanghai advanced. U.S. futures rose and oil prices fell.
Japan’s central bank opted to keep its benchmark interest rate at minus 0.1% at a policy meeting that ended Friday. But it adjusted its bond purchases to allow greater flexibility in yields, saying uncertainties for the economy and prices required a nimbler approach.
The yield on the 10-year Japanese government bond rose after the BOJ said it would offer to buy those at a 1% yield each business day, instead of the upper limit of 0.5% that was imposed under its “yield curve control program.”
The aim is still to keep long-term interest rates near zero percent, the central bank said.
Markets in Japan wobbled before Friday's announcement. Afterward, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 dipped more than 2% but in the end closed 0.4% lower, at 32,759.23. The dollar bounced against the Japanese yen but eventually fell to 139.39 from 139.49.
Shares in Japanese banks jumped. Mizuho Financial Group gained 4.8%; Mitsubishi UFG added 5.3% and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group surged 4.3%.
In early European trading, Germany's DAX edged 0.1% lower to 16,394.51 and the CAC 40 in Paris declined 0.3% to 7,446.29. London's FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 7,704.75. Stocks climbed in Europe on Thursday after the European Central Bank raised interest rates.
The future for the S&P 500 gained 0.4% while that for the Dow Jones
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