Asian stocks are in the red in Thursday’s trade, with Japan’s Nikkei losing more than 2% after three straight sessions of gains.
In particular, the Japanese Nikkei 225 plunged 2.1% to 37,654.62 points against the backdrop of the Bank of Japan’s two-day monetary policy meeting that began today. Investors are awaiting action by the central bank to stem pressure on the yen, which also breached the 155 level against the US dollar on Wednesday, sliding to a new 34-year low.
In Hong Kong the Hang Seng index is marginally down 0.01%, while in mainland China Shanghai is down 0.1% and the CSI 300 of large-cap companies is moving with small gains of 0.1%.
In South Korea, the Kospi index fell 1.3%. Preliminary data released today showed the country’s GDP grew by 3.4% in the first quarter from a year earlier, showing the biggest increase since the fourth quarter of 2021.
Markets in Australia and New Zealand were closed today due to a national holiday.
