Shares in the Asia-Pacific traded mostly higher on Tuesday as Australia’s central bank raised interest rates again.
The Nikkei 225 gained 6.9 points the day after Labour Day to 27,626.51.
The Japanese yen weakened sharply and hit a 24-year high. It last changed hands at 141.55 per U.S. dollar.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index dropped 22.97 points, or 0.1%, to 19,202.73.
The Reserve Bank of Australia raised rates by a half point to 2.35%, as expected by analysts polled by Reuters. The Australian dollar weakened and last traded at $0.6779 following the move.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 regained 36.85 points, or 0.9%, to 4,052.28.
On Monday, the People’s Bank of China announced it would cut the foreign exchange reserve requirement ratio, or the amount of FX reserves that financial institutions must hold, to improve the ability of financial institutions to use foreign exchange funds.
Starting Sept. 15, the RRR will be 6%, down from 8%.
On Tuesday, the PBOC set the yuan’s midpoint against the dollar at 6.9096, the weakest since Aug. 25, 2020, according to Wind Information.
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex recovered 16.1 points, or 0.1%, to 14,677.20
In Korea, the Kospi index added 6.34 points, or 0.3%, to 2,410.02
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index pointed upward 8.7 points, or 0.3%, to 3,224.18.
In Australia, the ASX 200 faded 25.69 points, or 0.4%, to 6,826.54.
In New Zealand, the NZX faltered 19.81 points, or 0.2%, to 11,599.23
