Asia-Pacific markets mostly rise as China holds loan prime rates steady for fourth month
China kept its loan prime rates unchanged for the fourth month in a row as expected, even after the Fed lowered its rates by 25 basis points last week.
Aliver
Asia-Pacific markets traded mostly higher Monday, tracking Wall Street's gains on Friday stateside, as investors assessed China's key lending rate decision.
China's CSI 300 opened flat after its central bank kept the loan prime rates (LPR) unchanged for the fourth month in a row, in line with a Reuters poll. The decision to stand pat comes after the U.S. Federal Reserve lowered its rates by 25 basis points last week.
The People's Bank of China kept the one-year LPR unchanged at 3.0% while the five-year LPR remained at 3.5%, according to a statement Monday. The one-year LPR influences most new and outstanding loans, while the five-year rate influences the pricing of mortgages.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.3%, while the Hang Seng Tech Index declined 0.47%.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 1.28%, while the Topix index advanced 0.8%. The 10-year Japanese Government Bonds rose 0.67% to 1.650, the highest level since July 2007.
South Korea's Kospi index added 0.71%, while the small-cap Kosdaq was 0.9% higher.
Australia's ASX/S&P 200 increased 0.49%.
U.S. equity futures were little changed in early Asian hours following a strong week for the major averages. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 closed at fresh all-time highs as the Fed's rate cut set in investors' minds.
Markets are now pricing in two more quarter-point cuts between now and the end of the year, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
On Friday stateside, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 172.85 points, or 0.37%, to close at 46,315.27, reaching a fresh record high. The S&P 500 settled up 0.49% at 6,664.36, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.72% to finish at 22,631.48.
— CNBC's Anniek Bao, Sarah Min, Pia Singh and Alex Harring contributed to this report.
