Asian markets decline as BOJ keeps interest rates steady; Factory activity in China expands for first time since April - NBC New York

This is CNBC’s live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.

Asia-Pacific markets fell on Thursday as investors eyed the Bank of Japan’s interest rate decision and key business activity figures from China.

BOJ kept the benchmark policy rate unchanged compared to the previous meeting at 0.25%. The bank issued a statement two line description It merely states the decision without giving any clues about the timing of the next interest rate increase.

In China, the country manufacturing purchasing managers index With the National Bureau of Statistics announcing that manufacturing PMI came in at 50.1, it entered the expansion zone for the first time since April.

That beat forecasts by a Reuters survey of economists, which expected the manufacturing PMI to come in at 49.9, a softer contraction from 49.8 in the previous month.

Japan’s reference point Nikkei 225 Following the BOJ decision, it closed at 39,081.25 with a 0.5 percent decrease and caught a three-day winning streak. The broad-based Topix index lost 0.3%, ending three consecutive days of gains, and finished at 2,695.51 points.

South Korea’s kospi It led losses in Asia, falling 1.45% to 2,556.15 points, its lowest level since September 11, but the small-cap Kosdaq rose 0.66% to close at 743.06.

Investors weigh their weight Samsung Electronics’ third quarter profitrevealed that it made lower profits compared to the previous quarter. Most importantly, Samsung’s semiconductor unit reported operating profit of 3.86 trillion won (about $2.8 billion) in the third quarter, down 40% from the previous quarter.

of Australia S&P/ASX 200 It closed at 8,160, losing 0.25%, reaching its lowest level since October 4.

In contrast, Hong Kong Hang Seng index It rose 0.13% as of the last hour, and the CSI 300 index in mainland China closed at 3,891.03, barely above the horizontal line.

Overnight in the US, stocks fell as investors digested earnings reports and awaited further results from megacap tech companies.

Alphabet As the company saw, it exceeded analysts’ expectations strong quarterly revenue growth from the cloud business. Shares are up nearly 3%. But the chip maker’s shares AMD Dropped more than 10 percent in the fourth quarter income guidance failed to impress investors.

tech giants Apple And Amazon The results will be announced on Thursday Meta Platforms And Microsoft.

Technology-oriented Nasdaq Composite It fell 0.56% after previously rising to a new record high. S&P 500 fell 0.33% and Dow Jones Industrial Average It closed at 42,141.54 with a loss of 0.22%.

— CNBC’s Hakyung Kim and Pia Singh contributed to this report.

Bank of Japan reiterates determination to continue interest rate hikes if economy continues to recover

In its three-month outlook report, the BOJ wrote that the central bank of Japan said it would continue to raise interest rates if the country’s economy continues to recover.

This comes after the bank kept its benchmark policy rate at 0.25% on Thursday.

The report pegged Japan’s “potential growth rate” at 0.5% to 1%, while the BOJ added that the country’s economy would likely “continue to grow at a pace above its potential growth rate.”

However, the BOJ underlined that it should “pay due attention” to the developments in the capital and financial markets as well as the course of foreign economies, especially the USA.

-Lim Hui Jie

China’s manufacturing activity expanded for the first time since April

of china manufacturing purchasing managers With the National Bureau of Statistics announcing that the manufacturing PMI was at 50.1, the index returned to the expansion zone for the first time since April.

That beat forecasts by a Reuters survey of economists, which expected the manufacturing PMI to come in at 49.9, a softer contraction from 49.8 in the previous month.

Composite PMI stood at 50.8, above 50.4 in August. China’s non-manufacturing PMI also increased from 50.0 to 50.2 compared to the previous month.

Japan’s retail sales met expectations, growing at slowest pace in two years

Japan Retail sales increased by 0.5% On an annual basis in September, there was a sharp decline from August’s revised 3.1% increase, marking the slowest increase since February 2022.

The figure also missed the 2.3% expected by economists polled by Reuters.

The weak retail sales figure could make it difficult for the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates, as the central bank has stated that it expects a demand-driven inflation scenario to take shape in the country.

-Lim Hui Jie

CNBC Pro: These 4 Indian stocks will rise over 30% as Diwali begins, analysts say

Interest in India is increasing among investors.

Many sectors and stocks are expected to perform well as the Diwali festive season begins in the South Asian powerhouse, analysts say.

Samvat 2081, which begins on Diwali day, October 31, marks the beginning of the Hindu new year. It could lead to movements in the stock market as some investors see this as a fresh start.

Indian markets made history in Samvat 2080; In September, BSE Sensex crossed 85,900 and the benchmark Nifty 50 index crossed 26,250. Analysts at Kotak Securities stated that both indices increased by approximately 25% during the year.

Analysts from Kotak and Mirae Asset have bet on this Diwali, revealing four buy-rated Indian stocks that have over 30% upside potential.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Amala Balakrishner

BofA’s bottom line: Fed on track to cut interest rates by 25 basis points

Bank of America thinks the Fed is moving toward a 25 basis point rate cut at its meeting next week.

“The October employment report will be noisy,” analyst Shruti Mishra said in a note on Wednesday. “Even if there is an upward surprise, we do not think the Fed will have enough confidence to keep interest rates steady, especially at a time when the policy rate is still close to 5%.”

Mishra expects non-farm employment to rise by 100,000 in October, after 254,000 in the previous month, and he sees this forecast as “solid pressure”.

Approximately 96.7% of investors predict a 25 basis point cut CME Group FedWatch Tool.

— Pia Singh

Yen gained value against the dollar

japanese yen It rose 0.2% against the greenback on Wednesday as the greenback weakened overall against major currencies.

The dollar was last traded at 153.03 yen. The dollar has managed to strengthen 6.5% against the yen since this month and has continued to rise 8.5% throughout the year.

— Hakyung Kim

Freedom Capital Markets strategist says big bets on Trump winning election are a ‘trap’

While betting is heavily on former President Donald Trump to win the election next week, polls are likely to be more accurate, according to Jay Woods, chief global strategist at Freedom Capital Markets.

“Betting on Trump – Too many people fall into that trap,” Woods said. “They’re quoting betting sites and talking about odds that Trump will win, but the polls are right. It’s a stalemate right now.”

“The Jets were also favored to win and they lost. That’s where the money is going,” Woods added.

—Brian Evans