HONG KONG, (APP/AFP) – The yen soared Friday and Asian
stock markets slipped as the Bank of Japan’s small adjustments to its stimulus programme disappointed traders who had expected a huge boost to its arsenal.
After weeks of anticipation that the central bank would pump fresh
cash into the economy, policymakers said only that they would boost its exposure to riskier investments, leaving a massive 80 trillion yen annual asset-buying programme unchanged.
“The BoJ decision failed to meet the market’s high expectations,”
Khoon Goh, head of Asia research at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group in
Singapore, told Bloomberg News.
He added that while governor Haruhiko Kuroda indicated the bank could
unveil fresh measures at its September meeting, “overall this is a huge
disappointment for markets”.
The news sent the dollar tumbling to below 103 yen from 104.20 yen
earlier in the day, and well off the levels above 107 yen touched last week, while the euro fell to 114.29 yen from 116.60 yen. The Nikkei stock index was also hit, sinking 1.5 percent in the afternoon.
Among other markets Sydney fell 0.3 percent, Seoul sank 0.1 percent
and Singapore tumbled 1.1 percent. Hong Kong fell 0.8 percent and Shanghai sank 0.1 percent at the break, before the announcement.
The announcement came days after the government in Tokyo launched a
fresh programme worth 28 trillion yen to kickstart the Japanese economy.
World markets soared in July as Britain’s shock vote to leave sparked
promises of support from central banks and governments in a bid to fend off a feared hit to the global economy.
The need for more support was highlighted Friday by data showing core
Japanese consumer prices fell for a fourth straight month in June, the latest sign that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s drive fire inflation is struggling to gain traction.
On oil markets both main contracts were headed for a seventh straight
day of losses as worries about a global supply glut return to the fore.
Brent and West Texas Intermediate each lost 0.3 percent and were
headed towards the $40 mark, well down from the 2016 peaks above $50 at the start of June as the crucial US holiday driving season comes to an end and temporary disruptions to output in Canada and Nigeria ease.
– Key figures around 0500 GMT –
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Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.5 percent at 16,233.00
Hong Kong – Hang Seng: DOWN 0.8 percent at 21,991.94 (break)
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 2,992.32 (break)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.10782 from $1.1076
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3178 from $1.3166
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 102.99 yen from 105.32 yen
New York – DOW: DOWN 0.1 percent at 18,456.35 (close)
London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 6,721.06 (close)