On July 14, 2022, in Hong Kong, China, red clouds lit up the skyline of Victoria Harbor.
Li Zhihua | China News Service | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were mostly higher on Friday, with Chinese stocks likely to end a week of gains, driven by Beijing’s stimulus measures aimed at boosting the economy.
China is to release industrial profit data later in the day, which will be year-to-date data through August, and investors will have to wait for the next batch of data to assess the effectiveness of Tuesday’s stimulus measures.
Hong Kong Hang Seng Index The futures index reported at 20,575 points, higher than the last closing point of the Hang Seng Index of 19,924.58 points. If the futures data is accurate, it would mean the index would open with a gain of more than 3%.
People’s Bank of China Cut the 7-day reverse repurchase rate From 1.5% to 1.7%, this is the second rate cut in about three months. Short-term interest rates were last cut to 1.7% from 1.8% in July.
The central bank also significantly lowered deposit reserve ratio According to a translated statement from the People’s Bank of China, loan interest rates for financial institutions were reduced by 0.5 percentage points to “create a good monetary and financial environment for my country’s stable economic growth and high-quality development.”
The bank added that after this reduction, the weighted average deposit reserve ratio of financial institutions will be around 6.6%.
Investors also Assessing September inflation data Data from Japan’s capital Tokyo is widely considered a leading indicator of national trends.
Tokyo’s overall inflation rate fell to 2.2% from 2.6% in August.
The capital’s core inflation rate, which excludes fresh food prices, was 2%, in line with economists polled by Reuters and down from 2.4% in August.
Japanese Nikkei 225 Index After the CPI data was released, the Topix rose 0.52%, while the Topix fell 0.23%.
Korean Cospi The Kosdaq fell 0.18%, with the small-cap Kosdaq down 0.15%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.25%, about 20 points away from its all-time high of 8,246.2 points.
All three major U.S. stock indexes rose overnight, with the S&P 500 hitting a new high after the release of upbeat U.S. economic data.
Boosted by gains in Micron Technology, the broader market index rose 0.40% to 5,745.37 points. The Nasdaq rose 0.60% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.62%.
A series of new U.S. economic data also supported the market’s gains, with weekly jobless claims falling more than expected, indicating a stable labor market.
In addition, the final value of U.S. second-quarter GDP was not revised, growing strongly by 3%.
—CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han and Brian Evans contributed to this report.
About The Author
