Archive: Bank of Japan headquarters, Tokyo. Fg2 / Wikimedia Commons, public domain, cropped.
Asian markets ended Thursday split as a tech-led slide on Wall Street landed on the eve of the Bank of Japan’s latest policy decision.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.1 percent to close at 64,659.47, its second straight gain. South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.2 percent to 5,937.66, giving back part of Wednesday’s surge. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.6 percent to 22,958.65, and the Shanghai Composite lost 0.8 percent to finish at 3,651.43.
Later Thursday, New York stocks fell as investors sold big technology names. The S&P 500 fell 0.3 percent to 7,720.39, the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.4 percent to 26,184.72, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2 percent to 52,342.56.
Shares of Google parent Alphabet led the decline after the company’s third-quarter report showed a sharp rise in spending on artificial intelligence. After the closing bell, Amazon shares fell in extended trading after the company reported its own third-quarter results.
Attention now turns to Tokyo. The Bank of Japan’s two-day policy meeting ends Friday, with a statement due after it wraps up, according to the central bank’s published calendar. The dollar bought 157.79 yen at 7:46 p.m. ET Thursday, little changed on the day. U.S. crude oil was up 0.7 percent at $102.73 a barrel at 7:35 p.m. ET.
For households, the number to watch is the yen. When the yen weakens against the dollar, imported goods such as food and fuel cost more in Japan; a stronger yen makes them cheaper. Nothing in Thursday’s market moves changes loan rates or prices on its own, and the Bank of Japan’s statement does not arrive until Friday.
Friday’s calendar brings the Bank of Japan’s policy statement, the first checkpoint for markets after this week’s Wall Street swings.
JBizNews Desk | New York
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