Market Movements in the Asia-Pacific Region

In the afternoon trading session on Thursday, major stock indexes across the Asia-Pacific region mostly trended downwards. This movement came in the wake of the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) decision to maintain the interest rate at a steady 0.50%.

Economic Indicators Show Mixed Signals

Economic data released revealed a dip in Japanese consumer confidence during July, contrasting with a 1.2% increase in Australian retail sales for June. Adding to the day's economic developments, United States President Donald Trump announced a new trade agreement with South Korea.

Stock Indexes Performance

Japan's Nikkei 225 saw an uptick of 1.09% by 7:29 am CET. However, not all markets shared this positive trend; Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped by 1.49%, and South Korea's Kospi Composite decreased by 0.71%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 and mainland China's Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen Composite also experienced declines of 0.19%, 0.96%, and 0.56% respectively by 7:16 am CET.

Currency Watch: The US dollar weakened against the yen, trading 0.44% lower at 7:36 am CET, with a selling price of ¥148.82.