TOKYO: There was mixed reaction across Asian share markets on Thursday (Sep 19) after a bumper interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve.
The Fed lowered its window for the benchmark policy rate by 50 basis points to between 4.75 per cent and 5 per cent.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index was up 0.47 per cent as of 10.39am.
Japan’s Nikkei share average rose more than 2 per cent, led by export-oriented stocks, as the yen weakened against the US dollar despite the Fed interest rate cut.
The Nikkei was up 2.1 per cent at 37,133.34, as of 12.08am GMT, while the broader Topix was up 1.9 per cent to 2,614,09.
Uniqlo brand owner Fast Retailing rose to give the biggest boost to the Nikkei. Technology start-up investor SoftBank Group rose 1.4 per cent.
All of the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s 33 industry sub-indexes were trading higher, led by the automakers’ index, rising 3.9 per cent. Toyota Motor jumped 4.9 per cent.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.4 per cent in early trade, pressured as South Korean markets returned from holidays with heavy falls in the chipmaking sector following a downbeat Morgan Stanley note.
South Korea’s Kospi Index was down 0.92 per cent as of 1.56am GMT.
Meanwhile, SK Hynix shares tumbled 9.6 per cent and Samsung fell 2.6 per cent.
China shares dipped on Thursday as concerns over a fragile economic recovery offset any benefits seen from the Federal Reserve’s overnight decision to cut interest rates.
China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index and Shanghai Composite Index both slipped 0.5 per cent in early trade, while Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng was roughly flat.
Investor sentiment towards Chinese equities remained subdued even though the US rate cut provided room for fresh easing by Beijing to support its sputtering economy.
Yan Wang, chief emerging markets and China strategist at Alpine Macro, said while Fed rate cuts are generally positive for emerging market assets, China’s domestic macroeconomic policies and growth outlook are far more critical than the Fed’s actions.
“Unfortunately, the predictability of these factors remains quite poor,” he said.
By sector, Hong Kong-listed mainland property stocks outperformed the broader market and was up 2.3 per cent.
Tracking the US central bank’s move, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) on Thursday cut its base rate charged via the overnight discount window by 50 basis points to 5.25 per cent.
Hong Kong’s monetary policy moves in lock-step with the United States as the city’s currency is pegged to the greenback in a tight range of 7.75 to 7.85 per dollar.