Asia report: Most markets higher as BoJ stands pat

Most markets in Asia were marginally higher on Friday, with investors keeping an eye on the tech slide in New York as the Bank of Japan stood pat on policy.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.56% at 19,943.26, as the yen weakened against the greenback to last sit 0.3% behind at JPY 111.26.

The Bank of Japan made no changes to its policy after its two-day meeting, which was widely predicted by the markets.

There was also a more upbeat view on domestic consumption, as well as other globally important economies, emanating from the central bank.

On the corporate front, airbag maker Takata made headlines amid reports it could be filing for bankruptcy within the next week.

The firm was in the middle of negotiating a deal with US car parts manufacturer Key Safety Systems, after it agreed earlier in the year to pay $1bn in penalties following its fatally defective airbag scandal.

Its shares were suspended from trade during the Tokyo session, due to the bankruptcy reports.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.31% at 3,122.86, while the smaller, tech-heavy Shenzhen Composite slipped 0.2% to 1,866.05.

South Korea’s Kospi eked out gains of 0.01% to close at 2,316.83, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was 0.24% higher at 25,626.49.

Technology stocks in Seoul were mostly lower, as traders took their cue from Wall Street’s treatment of the big tech names overnight.

Samsung Electronics was off 0.22% and SK Hynix lost 0.17%, though internet firm Naver was the odd one one, finishing 0.79% in the green.

Oil prices were higher during Asian trading, with Brent crude last up 0.91% at $47.35 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate ahead 0.58% at $44.72.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.19% higher at 5,774.03, while the S&P/NZX 50 in New Zealand was up 0.5% at 7,552.75.

Both of the down under dollars were stronger on the greenback, with the Aussie last advancing 0.43% to AUD 1.3138 and the Kiwi managing to gain 0.39% on the dollar to NZD 1.3820.