Hong Kong stocks advanced on Thursday for a third day in a row, with the benchmark index rising to its highest level in over four months, after China’s central bank injected liquidity into the markets.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index regained 48.54 points, or 0.3%, to 17,329.02, with the yen weaker against its major rivals. However, the gains were capped as investors were cautious ahead of a closely-watched European Central Bank policy meeting later in the day.
The yen fell to ¥118.05 versus the U.S. dollar, compared with ¥117.81 late Wednesday in New York. Against the euro the yen dropped to ¥136.88 from 136.50.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index progressed 170.05 points, or 0.7%, to 24,522.63, its highest settlement since early September
CHINA
The Shanghai CS300 index added 18.73 points, or 0.5%, to 3,567.61, also extending a three-day winning streak.
On Thursday, the People’s Bank of China announced it has pumped 50 billion yuan ($8 billion U.S.) into the money markets through seven-day reverse-repurchase agreements. It was the first time the central bank has used the tool since last January.
The PBOC rolled over the maturing 269.5-billion-yuan Medium Lending Facility to banks and added an extra 50 billion yuan via the tool to cope with seasonally tight liquidity ahead of the Chinese New Year festival, the central bank said Wednesday evening on its official Weibo account.
In other markets;
The Kospi in Korea dropped 0.41 points to 1,920.82
In Taiwan, the Taiex index gained 49.80 points, or 0.5%, to 9,369.5`
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index moved higher 15.83 points, or 0.5%, to 3,370.29
New Zealand’s NZX 50 index slid 25.71 points, or 0.5%, to 5,647.15
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gathered 26.56 points, or 0.5%, to 5,419.94
