Asia-Pacific higher following rate cuts

Major stock markets in the Asia-Pacific region traded with gains on Tuesday after the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) decided to lower its key interest rates by 10 basis points, and Chinese President Xi Jinping called for more efforts to strengthen the country’s manufacturing sector. Additionally, Australia’s central bank cut its interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.85%, a level not seen since May 2023.

In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite grew by 0.58% and the Shenzhen Composite added 0.90% at 7:17 am CET. A minute later, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 traded 0.62% higher, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose by 0.46%. At 7:19 am CET, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed by 1.37% and South Korea’s Kospi advanced by 0.15%.

The dollar was down by 0.14% compared to the yen at 7:19 am CET, selling for ¥144.65000.