Asian stocks were flat on Wednesday as mixed figures from leading technology brands illustrated the banality in the advancement of Artificial Intelligence. The yen stayed steady before the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) policy meeting, while central bank decisions were the focus of investors.
The dollar is predicted to stay unchanged in the rates but may in the future give a hint to lowering the same. On the other hand, it is expected that the BOJ has signals of scaling back its big bond-buying program and maybe hiking interest rates.
Geopolitical aspects also played their part in the market mood whereby the Israeli administration took the credit for a recent air raid that saw the key Hezbollah figure in Beirut killed on a Tuesday. This came after other incidents of violence and diplomatic actions aimed at restoring order in the area.
The company that measures Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan added 0. 23 %, but down 1. 2 % for the month for the first time since October. It was done on a mixed basis where Microsoft, which reported low results dragged down tech shares while Advanced Micro Devices which presented high results on chips brightened up the sector. The Nasdaq futures rose,0. 7 percent and the Nikkei of Japan subsided by 1 percent early trading it was on track to decline by 3. 7 percent in July due to its strong yen.
The yen rose 0. 20 percent to 152. 465 per dollar while it gained 5. 5 percent in July, this is its best since November of last year. This rebound attends [weakness due to] relatively the greater interest rate differential with the rest of developed Japan.
Forecasts for BOJ on bond purchases and actual rate increases are also much awaited by the market. Equity Capital’s Stuart Cole responded to the signals by stating that Europe’s chief may not be confident enough to begin a serious proclamation of tighter policy by merely trimming bond buying.
US crude increased 0. 67% to $75. 23 per barrel while the global benchmark, Brent crude oil shed 0. 5% to $79. 02 per barrel.