Stocks in the Asia-Pacific traded mixed on Tuesday, as investors digested the Reserve Bank of Australia’s interest rate hike of 25 basis points, broadly in line with expectations.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index doffed 8.18 points to 27,685.47.
Softbank Group saw a net loss of 783.42 billion yen ($5.93 billion U.S.) in the three-month period ending in the final month of 2022, according to its latest earnings report.
That compares to the 20.67-billion-yen profit that it saw the same period a year ago.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index regained 76.54 points, or 0.4%, to 21,298.70, as shares of Baidu jumped on a recent announcement on its artificial chatbot.
Markets in Korea showed marginal gains as shares of Kakao Entertainment climbed more than 4% after it announced a 112 billion won
($89.1 million U.S.) deal to acquire 1.23 million more shares in South Korean entertainment giant SM Entertainment.
The deal will take Kakao’s stake in SM Entertainment to 9.05%.
Shares of SM Entertainment dipped shortly after the announcement, and last traded about 2.28% lower.
SM Entertainment is one of South Korea’s largest entertainment agencies, and is home to acts like aespa and Red Velvet.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has announced to raise its interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.1%, the highest since 2012.
“Inflation is expected to decline this year due to both global factors and slower growth in domestic demand,” RBA Governor Philip Lowe said in a statement.
Lowe added the central bank’s forecast for Australia’s consumer price index is 4% 2023 and expects to reach 3% by mid-2025.
In other markets
The Shanghai CSI 300 eked up 7.35 points, or 0.2%, to 4,094.23.
In Korea, the Kospi recovered 13.52 points, or 0.6%, to 2,451.71.
In Singapore, the Straits Times slid 5.09 points, or 0.2%, to 3,380.84.
In Taiwan, the Taiex inched back up 8.09 points, or 0.1%, to 15,400.91.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 returned from a long weekend to lose 68.17 points, or 0.6%, to 12,128.98
In Australia, the ASX 200 slid 34.84 points, or 0.5%, to 7,504.14.
