Bank of Japan keeps policy steady, focus on Kuroda’s presser

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) yesterday ended a policy board meeting with no change to its already lavish policy of monetary stimulus.

Elsewhere, India’s Sensex was up 0.6 percent, Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite index was rallying 1.7 percent, Malaysia’s KLSE Composite was gaining 0.9 percent and Singapore’s Straits Times index was up 1.4 percent, while the Taiwan Weighted closed half a percent higher.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.2 percent, led by a 0.4 percent rise in South Korea.

Global stock markets rose Wednesday, taking in stride the IMF’s lower global growth forecast, as oil prices extended a rebound.

The dollar stood at 119.93 in early afternoon trade in Tokyo, down from 120.28 yen before the BoJ decision Wednesday and from 120.21 in New York Tuesday.

It also comes a day after the global Monetary Fund lowered its growth forecast for this year and next, calling on authorities to work harder to slash a national debt that is more than twice as big as gross domestic product (GDP). With the Chinese economic slowdown lowering demand for Japanese goods, the third quarter isn’t expected be any better. And financial markets are unpredictable ahead of the planned USA interest rate hike. “The rest is likely to be newly directed at FILP agency bonds and/or increasing the JGB purchases by slightly extending the average remaining maturity of JGBs (currently 7-10 yrs)”, says Societe Generale.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up by 1.1% at 22,071.80. The contract jumped $2.27 to close at $48.53 a barrel on Tuesday in New York.

SPINOFF: Mining and drilling company Freeport-McMoRan rose 52 cents, or 5 per cent, to $11.71 after the company said it is exploring the idea of spinning off its oil and natural gas business into a separate company.

The Bank of Japan is expected to hold off on expanding stimulus on Wednesday, even as slumping exports and falling oil prices threaten its rosy projection that the economy is on track to hit its ambitious 2 per cent inflation target next year. The current controversy’s child Volkswagen shares too ended 3.8 percent higher after the new CEO Matthias Mueller said it would need to make “massive” cost savings to overcome the consequences of the emissions scandal.

Against a basket of major currencies, the dollar last traded at 95.461, staying within its range so far in October of 95.218 to 96.490.

LONDON, October 8 (Reuters) – The dollar weakened past $1.13 per euro for the first time in a week on Thursday on nervousness over what kind of message Federal Reserve minutes due later will send on the outlook for interest rates and growth.