Nikkei 225 index added 0.2% to 38,633.02, the Hang Seng lost 0.8% to 18,280.67, the Shanghai Composite index declined 0.4% to 3,005.44, the S&P/ASX 200 was little changed at 7,769.40, Kospi gained 0.4% to 2,807.63, Taiex added 0.9%, while SET dropped 0.4%
Asian stocks were mixed in thin trading Thursday after U.S. markets were shut in observance of Juneteenth.
U.S. futures and oil prices also were mixed.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index added 0.2% to 38,633.02.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 0.8% to 18,280.67. The Hang Seng tech index pulled back 1.7%, after climbing 3.7% on Wednesday, tracking Nvidia’s gains. The Shanghai Composite index declined 0.4% to 3,005.44.
The Chinese yuan was trading at its lowest level this year, with the central parity rate set at 7.1192 yuan to the U.S. dollar, as per the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.
The central parity rate is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the interbank market opens each business day.
China’s central bank kept its one-year lending benchmark rate unchanged at 3.45% and the five-year loan prime rate at 3.95% on Thursday. The one-year loan prime rate serves as a benchmark for the majority of corporate and household loans, while the five-year rate is used as a peg for real estate mortgages.
In the meantime, markets in China were digesting comments from People’s Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng, who told a financial forum in Shanghai that China will keep its monetary policies accommodative to support the economy.
In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 was little changed at 7,769.40. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.4% to 2,807.63.
Elsewhere, Taiwan’s Taiex added 0.9%, while Bangkok’s SET dropped 0.4%.
On Wednesday, European equity markets were mostly down. In London, the FTSE 100 added 0.2% to 8,205.11 after data showed that British inflation dropped to the central bank’s 2% target for the first time in around three years. The data also backed market expectations that the BoE will keep its benchmark rate at 5.25% for the time being.
Germany’s DAX slid 0.4% to 18,067.91, while the CAC 40 in Paris declined 0.8% to 7,570.20.
