Asian Shares Mixed as Markets Await Bank of Japan Decision

Asian shares were broadly mixed Wednesday ahead of key monetary-policy announcements by the Bank of Japan and the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The Nikkei Stock Average was down 0.5%, after closing down 0.2% in the previous session. Elsewhere, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.2%, the Hang Seng Index was flat, the Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.1% and Korea's Kospi edged 0.1% higher.

"The whole market is anticipating what the Bank of Japan's decision will be…and what further action it can take," said Alex Wijaya, a sales trader at CMC Markets.

Financial stocks dragged the Nikkei lower amid worries about further lowering of the rate on excess reserves. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. was 0.6% lower, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. was down 0.3% and Gunma Bank Ltd. was off 1%.

The market will be watching to see if the BOJ pushes a key interest rate further below zero. Before resorting to negative interest rates earlier this year, the central bank had tried for 3 1/2 years to reboot the country's flagging economy with radical measures.

Growth and inflation have remained elusive, however, and the central bank's board is now split over whether to continue with the experiment.

"Confidence in what the BOJ can implement at the meeting is cautious and recently the BOJ has disappointed markets," said ANZ Research in a note.

Rising oil prices gave stocks in commodity-reliant economies a boost, with Malaysia's Bursa moving 0.1% higher. Among oil-and-gas firms, Oil Search Ltd. was up 0.8% and Santos Ltd. rose 1.1%. Brent, the global oil benchmark, was last up 1.2% at $46.44 a barrel.

Later on Wednesday, markets will be watching for a statement on interest rates from the Federal Reserve following its two-day monetary policy meeting.

Takashi Nakamichi and Kosaku Narioka contributed to this article.

Write to Ese Erheriene at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 20, 2016 23:05 ET (03:05 GMT)

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