In Asia, China rose 1% while Japan tumbled by nearly 2%. The Shanghai Composite was boosted by new chatter from the Chinese cabinet to stimulate the domestic economy in a recovery attempt from the COVID-19 lockdowns. In Japan, the Nikkei sank 1.8% after the Bank of Japan left its policy status quo. The Japanese benchmark closed at its lowest level in over a month and the 6.6% loss for the week notched its sharpest decline in over two years. Heavyweights led the way lower with key names such as SoftBank, Toyota, Advantest and Tokyo Electron plummeting 4-5%.
Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended the week on a mixed note.
Japan’s Nikkei -1.8%;
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng +1.1%;
China’s Shanghai Composite +1.4%;
India’s Sensex -0.3%; S
outh Korea’s Kospi -0.4%;
Australia’s All Ordinaries -1.8%.