Asia-Pacific markets closed mixed on Thursday after a selloff in the previous session, with Japan’s Nikkei leading losses in the region.
The Nikkei 225 index lost another 390.25 points, or 1.1%, to 36,647.09
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index handed over 13.04 points, or 0.1%, to 17,444.30.
Average monthly cash earnings in the country rose 3.6% year on year, a softer rise compared to the 4.5% climb seen in June.
Real wages climbed 0.4% year on year, rising for a second straight month after a 1.1% rise in June.
The strong pay report offers the Bank of Japan more room for a rate hike, which could put pressure on equities. Bank of Japan board member Hajime Takata said the central bank “must keep raising rates if it can confirm that companies will continue to increase spending and wages,” Reuters reported.
Separately, Australian telecom operator Optus has received the green light from the country’s Competition and Consumer Commission for its proposed regional network and spectrum sharing agreement with rival TPG Telecom.
Other economic data coming from the region include retail sales numbers from Singapore.
Optus, which is owned by Singapore’s Singtel, announced the agreement in April, after having lobbied against a similar merger between TPG and Telstra, Australia’s largest telco.
In Korea, shares of SK Hynix rose nearly 3%. The South Korean chipmaker is set to start mass producing HBM3E 12-layer chips by the end of September, the company’s president and head of AI Infra division reportedly said on Wednesday.
Australian markets gained ground. Exports from the country in July rose 0.7% month on month while imports slipped 0.8% compared to last month.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 gained 5.6 points, or 0.2%, to 3,247.76.
Shares of some Chinese developers inched higher on optimism that the country was reportedly considering a two-phase reduction in interest rates to shore up its embattled property sector. Hong Kong-listed China Vanke rose over 2%.
On Wednesday, China’s financial regulators proposed a reduction in interest rates of up to $5.3 trillion worth on outstanding mortgages to decrease borrowing costs for millions, while easing pressure on its banking sector, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
An official from China’s central bank said Thursday that there is “certain room” to reduce the required amount of cash that banks need to hold as reserves, while noting “constraints in further cutting deposit and lending rates.” The reserve ratio requirement is currently kept at around 7%.
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex index gained 94.96 points, or 0.5%, to 21,187,61.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index recovered 17.28 points, or 0.5%, to 3,458.66.
In Korea, the Kospi index dropped 5.3 points, or 0.2%, to 2,575.50.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 gained 125.31 points, or 1%, to 12,678.66.
In Australia, the ASX 200 surged 31.9 points, or 0.4%, to 7,982.38.
