Editorial montage of Japanese flag and Japanese yen cash banknotes.
Javier Guersi | Moment | Getty Images
this yen It fell above 156 against the dollar on Friday after the Bank of Japan kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged.
The Bank of Japan kept its benchmark policy rate at 0%-0.1% as expected. The Bank of Japan also said it would continue bond purchases in line with its decision in March.
The yen hit new lows against the dollar after the decision was announced, hitting 156.79 in afternoon trading.
Tokyo’s overall inflation rate was 1.8% in April, down from 2.6% in March. The capital’s core inflation rate, which excludes fresh food prices, fell sharply to 1.6% from 2.4% in March, below the 2.2% forecast by economists polled by Reuters.
Tokyo inflation data is widely considered a leading indicator of national trends.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index It rose 0.81% to close at 37,934.76 points, and the Topix rose 0.86% to close at 2,686.48 points.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 2.12%, leading Asian stock markets, and mainland China’s CSI 300 Index rose 1.53% to 3,584.27 points.
Korean Cospi The Kosdaq index rose 1.05% to close at 2,656.33 points, and the small-cap Kosdaq index rose less, 0.42%, to close at 856.82 points.
However, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index dragged down by industrial and medical services stocks, it fell 1.39% to close at 7,575.9 points.
U.S. stocks plunged overnight as data showed a sharp slowdown in economic growth and pointed to persistent inflation.
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis said U.S. gross domestic product grew 1.6% in the first quarter. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones forecast GDP growth of 2.4%.
In addition to the pessimistic growth rate, the report also showed that the personal consumption expenditures price index grew at a rate of 3.4%, much higher than the 1.8% increase in the previous quarter.
this Dow Jones Industrial Average Dragged down by the sharp decline in the stock market, it fell 0.98% caterpillar and International Business Machines Corporation.this S&P 500 Index down 0.46%, Nasdaq Index down 0.64%.
—CNBC’s Brian Evans contributed to this report.
About The Author
