SINGAPORE — Stocks in Asia-Pacific traded higher Wednesday morning as investors react to the release of minutes from the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy meeting.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.36% while the Topix index gained 0.1%. South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.59%.
In the Bank of Japan’s October monetary policy meeting minutes released Wednesday, one member expressed concern that “deflation might take hold” if Covid-19 spreads again and pushes down economic activity, so this “possibly warranted attention” in guiding monetary policy.
Shares in Australia edged higher, with the S&P/ASX 200 gaining 0.85%.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.21% higher.
A new Covid strain in the U.K. has been weighing on investor sentiment globally in recent days. It comes at a time when vaccines are starting to be rolled out and major economies around the world have seen a resurgence in daily coronavirus infections.
Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 saw a third straight session of losses as it declined 0.2% to 3,687.26. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 200.94 points to close at 30,015.51. The Nasdaq Composite outperformed as it rose 0.5% to close at 12,807.92, a new record.
Currencies
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 90.654 following an earlier recovery from levels below 90.4.
The Japanese yen traded at 103.52 per dollar, still stronger than levels above 104 seen last week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.755, in a trading week that has seen it at levels around $0.76 to below $0.75.
Source: CNBC