The Hong Kong Monetary Authority lowered its base rate by 50 basis points, following the easing by the U.S. Federal Reserve. But HSBC and Bank of China passed on only 25 basis points to their customers, the first rate cut since November 2019.
Stocks lost early momentum in Tokyo ahead of rate decisions from the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan. Japan's international trade balance swung to a deficit for the second month in a row after severe weather limited growth in exports.
LIC lowered its sake in DCM Shriram. Torrent Power won a project to build a pumped hydro storage facility in Maharashtra. Spicejet disclosed a large outstanding tax and provident fund payment as the struggling airline launches a secondary offering.
Benchmark indexes in Tokyo dropped as much as 2% ahead of the Bank of Japan's rate decisions on Friday, led by volatile tech stocks. The yen hovered near this year's high.
Property stocks in Hong Kong advanced ahead of a possible U.S. Federal Reserve's rate cut On Thursday. Midea Group's initial public offering soared as much as 10% on the first day of trading in Hong Kong.
The Japanese yen drifted higher and hovered near its 2024 high following hawkish comments from Bank of Japan's second board member this week, pressuring equities. The Nikkei and the Topix gained trimmed weekly gain to less than 3%.
Benchmark indexes in Hong Kong and the mainland traded higher amid mortgage rate cut speculation but fell for the week amid lingering worries about the economic growth and lack of progress in alleviating the property market slump.
Japan indexes rebounded sharply after falling in the previous two sessions, tracking the rebound in tech stocks on Wall Street. Producer price inflation slowed in August, and sentiment among large manufacturing companies improved in the third quarter in Japan.
Stocks in Hong Kong advanced but struggled in Shanghai as investors focused on global rate cuts. Alibaba Group advanced after mainland investors snapped up its stock on the first day of trading on Stock Connect.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong dropped to a one-month low after crude oil prices sank to three-year lows amid demand growth worries in China and the U.S.
Stocks in Tokyo extended gains for the second day in a row, tracking gains on Wall Street. However, market gains were muted by the worry that the Bank of Japan is likely to raise rates before the end of the year.
China indexes diverged, and the strong export performance was overshadowed by domestic economic growth worries. Exports surged more than expected in August, driven by high demand for smartphones, electric vehicles, and ship vessels.
