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| Economy |
| Asia shares bounce back as BOJ promises support for economy |
| 2020-03-02 |
| BANGKOK (AP) ‐ Share prices in Asia bounced back Monday from last week’s retreat, with mainland Chinese indexes gaining more than 3% as data showed progress in restoring factory output after weeks of disruptions from the viral outbreak. Stocks have been swooning as investors fret the coronavirus outbreak will derail the global economy. But in those declines, some see opportunities to buy. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index recovered from early losses, gaining 1% to 21,345.54 after the Bank of Japan promised to step in to support the economy. The Shanghai Composite index rose 3.1% to 2,969.57. The benchmark for the smaller exchange, in Shenzhen, jumped 3.4%, while South Korea’s Kospi climbed 1% to 2,006.63. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong jumped 0.8% to 26,345.77 and India’s Sensex advanced 1.6% to 38,909.43. Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda issued a statement Monday, after an early plunge in share prices, saying the central bank "will closely monitor future developments, and will strive to provide ample liquidity and ensure stability in financial markets through appropriate market operations and asset purchases." On Friday the BOJ issued plans for purchases of assets for the coming weeks: the central bank already buys tens of billions of dollars’ worth of government bonds and other assets each year as part of its aggressive efforts to maintain cheap credit to help prevent deflation. Shares fell in Australia, where the S&P ASX/200 lost 0.8% to 6,391.50 and in Taiwan, which fell 1.1%. Stocks were mostly higher in Southeast Asia, and Bangkok’s benchmark surged 0.9%. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |