SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific were mostly higher in Thursday morning trade, though South Korean stocks lagged the broader region as the Bank of Korea unexpectedly announced a rate hike.
Mainland Chinese stocks rose in Thursday morning trade, with the Shanghai composite up 0.74% and the Shenzhen component climbing 0.87%.
China’s government announced Wednesday that reserve requirement ratio cuts will be used “at an appropriate time to raise the credit input capacity of banks,” citing details from a State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang.
That development comes as China has in recent weeks been battling its most severe Covid outbreak on the mainland since the initial phase of the pandemic in early 2020.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index also gained 0.37%. Shares of CNOOC listed in the city rose 1.4%. Reuters reported Wednesday the Chinese oil firm is preparing to exit operations in multiple Western nations due to fears of sanctions.
South Korea’s Kospi lagged the broader region as it dipped 0.19%.
The Bank of Korea announced Thursday a 25 basis points hike in its base rate to 1.5%, a decision predicted by less than half of the economists in a Reuters poll.
Following the decision, the Korean won traded at 1,223.58 per dollar, still stronger than levels above 1,232 seen against the greenback earlier this week.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan climbed 1.12% while the Topix index advanced 0.77%.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.41%. Australia’s unemployment rate remained at 4% in March, according to official data released Thursday. That was slightly worse than expectations in a Reuters poll for a 3.9% unemployment rate.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.41% higher. Markets in India are closed on Thursday for a holiday.
Overnight stateside, the S&P 500 climbed 1.12% to 4,446.59. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 344.23 points, or 1.01%, to 34,564.59. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 2.03% to 13,643.59.
Currencies and oil
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 99.795 after a recent decline from above 100.4.
The Japanese yen traded at 125.36 per dollar, stronger than levels above 125.6 seen against the greenback yesterday. The Australian dollar was at $0.7458 following a recent bounce from levels below $0.744.
Oil prices were lower in the morning of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures down 0.53% to $108.20 per barrel. U.S. crude futures declined 0.71% to $103.51 per barrel.
Read More: Asia-Pacific stocks mixed as Bank of Korea announces rate hike