AUS
NZ
UK
CA
USA
IND
Summary
- APAC markets open on a flat note
- Investors keeping a close eye on Bank of Japan and COVID-19 situation in India
- HSBC to announce result today
The shares in Asia Pacific (APAC) countries opened marginally lower on Tuesday morning as investors kept a close watch on Bank Of Japan’s (BoJ) interest rate decision.
At the time of filing this copy, most of the Asian and Oceanian indices were trading in red.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 opened flat in early hour of trading, down just 8 basis points (bps).
Australia’s ASX200 was down 26 basis points at the time of filing this copy, while Down Jones New Zealand was down 39 bps.
Also Read: Markets next week: Key things to watch out for
China’s Shanghai Composite and Indonesian Jakarta Stock Exchange Composite Index were the laggards – losing 95 bps and 86 bps, respectively.
However Taiwanese markets were in black – with Taiwan Weighted Index up a healthy 157 basis points.
Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley Capital International’s (MSCI) APAC Index, which covers most of the APAC equities other than Japan, was up 40 bps, at the time of filing this copy.
Investors would be keeping a keen eye on Bank of Japan, which would be announcing its interest rate decision on Tuesday. The interest rate decision by the Japanese Central Bank comes in the wake of multiple regions including Tokyo and Osaka, recently placed under emergency to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Most analysts are expecting Bank of Japan to hold fire on interest rates.
Meanwhile, the second wave of COVID-19 has also unnerved the global investors, with the world reporting more than five million new infections last week, primarily driven by India. Over the past two days in the current week, of every two cases reported globally, one is from India – as the country chokes in need of life-saving oxygen and many other key medicines.
In corporate announcements, investors would be keenly watching out for the first quarter results of banking major HSBC, which is due today.
