Major stock markets in Asia-Pacific traded mixed on Friday following the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) decision to keep interest rates unchanged at a negative 0.1%. It was also revealed that Japanese annual inflation fell to 3.2% in August, while Japanese private sector activity declined in September. On the business front, it was reported that Chevron reached an agreement with the Australian Offshore Alliance union to suspend the strike at the Gorgon and Wheatstone liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants.
Japan's Nikkei 225 went down by 0.50%, while South Korea's Kospi decreased by 0.37% at 7:20 am CET. Two minutes later, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.26%.
In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite gained 0.68% at 7:21 am CET. At 7:20 am CET the Shenzhen Composite increased by 1.01%. At the same time, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose by 0.94%.
The dollar was up by 0.25% compared to the Japanese yen at 7:21 am CET, trading for ¥147.9530.
