Asian stock exchanges are mixed, with news from China relating to the decision of the Beijing government to abandon the zero Covid policy which continue to hold the court.
For now, optimism prevails: there is a bet on a more solid economic growth in China, apparently destined for reopening.
At the same time, however, concerns about the leap in infections are intensifying, which continues in a country without an alternative plan to that of zero tolerance towards Covid adopted until recently.
That said, Hong Kong shares jumped up more than 1.9%, benefiting from the Chinese announcement to lift the quarantine obligation for incoming travelers, before trimming gains and climbing by 1.35% .
The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Nikkei 225 index closed 0.41% lower, despite the Bank of Japan reiterating that last week’s changes to yield curve control did not imply a shift in its monetary policy, which remains expansive.
The Bank of Japan, Japan’s central bank, increased the range of fluctuations in Japanese government bond rates last week, from the previous range of between -0.25% and 0.25% to the new band, to the new range between -0.5% and +0.5%.
The change announced to the YCC corresponds in fact to a restrictive monetary policy maneuver since, in this way, the central bank of Japan will allow long-term rates to rise from 25 basis points (the previous limit set with the YCC policy) at 50 basis points.
In today’s statement, the BoJ stressed however that “the expansion of the range for fluctuations in 10-year government bond rates does not intend to change the direction of accommodative monetary policy”.
“It is a measure aimed at making the current accommodative monetary policy more sustainable”, continued the BoJ, also adding that a possible revision of the 2% inflation target “would not be appropriate”.
“Revision of that value would not be appropriate, as it could make the target ambiguous and the monetary policy response inadequate,” pointed out the Bank of Japan, led by Governor Haruhiko Kuroda.
With regard to the other Asian equity lists, Seoul hurt with a decline of more than 2%; Sydney -0.30%, Shanghai -0.27%.