HONG KONG (AP) – Japanese stocks tumbled and the yen rose Thursday after the central bank dashed investors’ hopes for more stimulus while other Asian benchmarks were mixed after the Fed left interest rates unchanged.
KEEPING SCORE: Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index erased earlier gains and fell 2.6 percent to 16,832.53. South Korea’s Kospi shed 0.6 percent to 2,003.29 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.5 percent to 21,467.36. The Shanghai Composite Index in mainland China lost 1.2 percent to 2,917.30 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.8 percent to 5,229.50. Taiwan’s benchmark, New Zealand’s rose and in Southeast Asia they were mixed.
JAPAN POLICY: Investors were disappointed by the policy statement from the Bank of Japan, which decided not to add to its huge economic stimulus program. Policymakers left interest rates and an asset purchase program untouched, though they did give some extra relief for earthquake recovery programs. Hopes for more stimulus for Asia’s No. 2 economy had risen after the latest official figures revealed weak inflation and consumer spending for March even as factory output rose, indicating lack of confidence among households whose buying power holds the key to sustained growth.
MARKET INSIGHT: “This shows that too much expectation of further easing had been priced in and the BoJ has surprised the market by taking no action,” Margaret Yang, an analyst at CMC Markets in Singapore, said in a commentary. “It is probable that the central bank is temporarily running out of tools to stimulate the economy, or they need more time to observe and assess the impact of negative interest rates.”
FED ON HOLD : Earlier, the U.S. central bank offered few surprises for investors in its latest policy statement, saying it would keep a key interest rate unchanged while revealing no clues as to when its next rate hike might occur. The Fed said that the United States is seeing solid job gains while noting economic activity appears to be slowing and expressed less alarm about the global economy than it had at its previous meeting in March.