Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed on Thursday as investors reacted to the Bank of Korea’s rate decision.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 recovered 196.82 points, or 0.7%, to 29,499.26.
The Japanese yen traded at 115.33 per U.S. dollar, weaker than levels below 114.5 seen against the greenback earlier this week.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng gained 54.66 points, or 0.2%, to 24,740.16.
Shares of developer Kaisa Group soared 13.9% as they returned from a trading halt. Kaisa on Thursday announced an offer to bondholders to exchange their existing bonds with new bonds that have an extended maturity.
South Korean markets closed lower, after the Bank of Korea raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to 1%, a move that was largely expected by analysts.
Following the decision, the Korean won traded 1,189.89 per U.S. dollar, weaker than levels around 1,185 seen against the greenback yesterday.
The South Korean central bank’s decision followed a similar move by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand on Wednesday.
The Australian dollar was at $0.72, still off levels above $0.724 seen earlier in the trading week.
In other markets
In China, the CSI 300 retreated 20.22 points, or 0.4%, to 4,896.44
In Taiwan, the Taiex regained 11.67 points, or 0.1%, to 17,654.19
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index dipped 5.63 points, or 0.2%, to 3,221.52
In Korea, the Kospi index deleted 14.02 points, or 0.5%, to 2,980.27
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 gained 11.67 points, or 0.1%, to 12,654.19
In Australia, the ASX 200 nicked up 7.85 points, or 0.1%, at 7,407.29
