Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Monday after Wall Street gains Friday, as investors assessed china’s key lending rate decision.
China’s CSI 300 opened flat after its central bank kept the loan prime rates (LPR) unchanged for the fourth month in a row, in line with a Reuters poll. The decision to stand pat comes after the U.S. federal Reserve lowered its rates by 25 basis points last week.
The People’s Bank of China kept the one-year LPR unchanged at 3.0% while the five-year LPR remained at 3.5%, according to a statement Monday. The one-year LPR influences most new and outstanding loans, while the five-year rate influences the pricing of mortgages.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1%, while the Hang Seng Tech Index declined 1.18%.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 1.28%, while the topix index advanced 0.8%. The 10-year Japanese Government Bonds rose 0.67% to 1.650, the highest level since July 2007.
South Korea’s kospi index added 0.71%, while the small-cap Kosdaq was 0.9% higher. Shares of Samsung Electronics jumped over 4% on news of strong memory chip demand.