Markets in mainland China fell more than 1% on Wednesday’s open before closing mixed amid the ongoing Evergrande crisis, as markets reopened for trade after a two-day holiday.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 dumped 200.31 points, or 0.7%, to 29,639.40,
The Bank of Japan on Wednesday held steady on monetary policy, keeping its short-term interest rate target at -0.1% while that for 10-year Japanese government bond yields was kept at around 0%.
The Japanese central bank warned in its monetary policy statement that the employment and income situation "remained weak" due to the COVID impact, while private consumption has "remained stagnant" due to sustained strong downward pressure on services consumption.
The Japanese yen traded at 109.51 per U.S. dollar, having strengthened from around 110 against the greenback earlier this week.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7254, against an earlier low of $0.7221.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 docked 34.17 points or 0.7%, to 4,821.77
The People’s Bank of China on Wednesday injected substantially more liquidity into the markets through "reverse repurchase agreements," or buying short-term bonds from some commercial lenders so banks have more cash on hand, data from the central bank showed.
China on Wednesday also kept its benchmark lending rate unchanged, with the one-year loan prime rate (LPR) held steady at 3.85%. The five-year LPR remained at 4.65%. That was largely in line with expectations of traders and analysts in a snap poll who predicted no change to both the one-year and five-year LPR, according to Reuters.
In other markets
Markets in Hong Kong and Korea were shuttered for holiday.
In Singapore, the Straits Times slid 15.15 points, or 0.5%, to 3,048.05
In Taiwan, the Taiex index capsized 350.97, or 2%, to 16,925.82.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 recovered 38.86 points, or 0.3%, to 13,215.80
In Australia, the ASX 200 surged 23.12 points, or 0.3%, at 7,296.94.
