Stock market today: Asian stocks are higher as Bank of Japan raises benchmark rate

Asian stocks were higher Wednesday following a decision by the Bank of Japan to raise its benchmark interest rate.

Policy decisions were due later in the day from the Federal Reserve, with another expected on Thursday from the Bank of England.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 recouped earlier losses, closing 1.5% higher at 39,101.82 after the central bank’s decision to raise the benchmark rate to about 0.25% from 0.1%.

A rate hike by the BOJ was expected to boost the yen, but since the decision was widely anticipated the dollar actually yoyoed against the Japanese currency, trading above 153.00 yen at times. It fell to 151.60 late Wednesday afternoon Japan time.

The dollar had recently exceeded the 160 yen level, adding to pressure on the BOJ to act. It has remained cautious about stifling growth and is just inching away from its ultra-lax monetary policy.

“It seems that policymakers are inclined to raise rates to limit excessive declines in the yen but are being careful not to fuel any overreaction to the move,” Yeap Jun Rong of IG said in a commentary.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is forecast to hold off on cutting interest rates when it announces its decision on Wednesday. The widespread expectation is that it will do so at its next meeting in September.

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The Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 2.2% to 17,380.46 and the Shanghai Composite index was up 2.1% at 2,938.75 after official data showed China’s July manufacturing activity contracted for a third straight month, fueling expectations that Beijing will need to roll out more stimulus to counter a slowdown.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 1.6% to 8,080.30 after data showed the annual rate of inflation has risen to 3.8% from 3.6% when the year started, and the consumer price index rose 1% compared with the last quarter.

In South Korea, the Kospi rose 0.9%, to 2,761.72 after Samsung Electronics reported a 15 fold increase in its operating profit in the last quarter.

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.5% to 5,436.44, even though two out of every three stocks within the index rose. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5% to 40,743.33, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1.3% to 17,147.42.

PayPal rose 8.6% and helped lead the market’s gainers after it topped analysts’ expectations for profit during the spring. It also raised its forecast for profit over the full year.

JetBlue Airways climbed 12.3% after reporting a profit for the spring, when analysts were expecting to see a loss. The airline also outlined ways it hopes to improve on-time performance and attract customers.

Most of the other stocks in the group that’s come to be known as the “Magnificent Seven” fell Tuesday, including a 7% tumble for Nvidia.

Helpfully for the market, other stocks have been rising up to cushion some of Big Tech’s recent softness, including smaller stocks and companies whose profits are closely tied to the strength of the economy. They rallied on hopes that inflation is slowing enough to get the Federal Reserve to soon begin cutting interest rates.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks added 0.3% Tuesday to stretch its market-leading gain for the month to 9.5%.

Expectations for a soon-to-be easier Fed have sent yields tumbling in the bond market, and they eased further Tuesday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.14% from 4.17% late Monday.

Yields got a brief bump after a couple reports on the economy came in stronger than expected. One showed U.S. employers were advertising slightly more job openings at the end of June than economists expected. That’s a good signal for workers, but too much strength could put upward pressure on inflation.

A second report, meanwhile, said confidence among U.S. consumers is improving by more than economists expected. There, too, the hope is for a “Goldilocks” type of reading that’s neither so hot that it raises fears about reaccelerating inflation nor so cold that it warns of a possible recession.

In other dealings, U.S. benchmark crude oil rose $1.55 to $76.28 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, picked up $1.49 to $79.56 per barrel.

The euro rose to $1.0825 from $1.0816.