Mainland China’s CSI 300 clocked its best day in over four years on Tuesday after Beijing announced a slew of policy easing measures in a rare briefing from central bank governor Pan Gongsheng.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 returned from a long weekend to jump 216.68 points, or 0.6%, to 37,940.59
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index plowed forward 753.45 points, or 4.1%, to 19,000.56, also on track to see its best day in over seven months following the PBOC briefing.
Elsewhere in Asia, Australia’s central bank held its benchmark policy rate at 4.35%, in line with expectations from economists polled by Reuters.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia said in a note last week that the economic data flow since the last meeting “has either been softer or in line with the RBA’s expectations.” As such, CBA expects a slightly less hawkish statement, but does not see a material shift in language or tone.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 added 139.15 points, or 4.3%, to 3,351.91, biggest gain since July 2020.
The PBOC will cut the reserve requirement ratio for banks by 50 basis points, although it did not provide a specific timeline. It also announced it would cut the seven-day reverse repurchase rate from 1.7% to 1.5%.
Pan also said that authorities could cut the loan prime rate by 0.2 to 0.25 percentage points, without specifying whether he was referring to the one-year or five-year. The one-year LPR currently stands at 3.35% and five-year LPR is at 3.85%.
Other measures also include reducing down payments for second homes, as well as one trillion yuan ($141.78 billion U.S.) of long-term funds.
In other markets,
In Korea, the Kospi progressed 29.67 points, or 1.1%, to 2,631.68
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index settled 15.8 points, or 0.4%, to 3,622.74.
In Taiwan, the Taiex index jumped 146.25 points, or 0.7%, to 22,431.78.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 declined 100.18 points, or 0.8%, to 12,303.99.
In Australia, the ASX 200 slid 10.98 points, or 0.1%, to 8,141.97.
