Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda arrives to conduct an interview with a small group of journalists in Tokyo on May 25, 2023.
Richard A. Brooks | AFP | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets largely fell ahead of the Bank of Japan’s rate decision on Friday.
Japan’s central bank is expected to keep its benchmark policy rate unchanged at -0.1%, but investors will be keenly watching for any signs of a shift in stance towards its yield curve control policy.
The Nikkei 225 tumbled 1.29%, while the Topix saw a smaller loss of 0.9%.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.84% as the country’s retail sales fell 0.8% year on year in June, lower than what economists polled by Reuters were expecting. Expectations were that the retail sales figure will remain unchanged from a year ago.
South Korea’s markets were more mixed, with the Kospi down 0.46% and the Kosdaq up 1.74%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also fell 0.9%, while the Shanghai Composite was down 0.28% and the Shenzhen Component inched down 0.16%.
Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes slid, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing 0.67% and snapping its 13-day winning streak.
Should the Dow have recorded a 14th straight day of gains, the index would have tied its record winning streak going way back to 1897.
Separately, the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.55%, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.64%.
— CNBC’s Sarah Min and Samantha Subin contributed to this report