Asian stock markets were mixed on Friday, with most regional indexes trading steadily as investors reacted to contrasting central bank signals. Sentiment was also shaped by the Reserve Bank of India’s widely expected interest rate cut.
Wall Street ended largely unchanged overnight, while U.S. futures saw slight gains as of 04:03 GMT.
RBI Cuts Rates by 25 bps; Nifty 50 Inches Higher
The Reserve Bank of India reduced its key repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.25%, aiming to support economic growth amid easing inflation pressures.
Governor Sanjay Malhotra said inflation had “eased significantly” and was likely to remain softer than earlier forecasts. The central bank also expressed optimism about the economy, raising its real GDP growth outlook for FY26.
Expectations for a rate cut had faded somewhat ahead of the announcement due to strong economic data and the rupee’s recent decline to record lows.
Following the decision, India’s Nifty 50 index rose 0.2%.
Japan’s Nikkei Falls on BOJ Rate Hike Speculation
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dropped around 1.5%, reversing earlier gains. The decline came as growing expectations of a Bank of Japan rate hike dampened market sentiment.
Investors reacted to comments from BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda earlier in the week, which were viewed as hawkish. A Reuters report also suggested that the central bank is likely to raise rates in December, with government officials prepared to accept such a move.
Fed Decision in Focus Across Asia
Elsewhere in the region, trading remained subdued ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s next policy decision. Rate-cut expectations stayed firm after Thursday’s jobless claims data showed initial claims falling to 191,000 — a sign of cooling in the labour market.
Markets are now awaiting the U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index, the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, due later on Friday.
China’s Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and the Shanghai Composite were mostly unchanged. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.2%.
South Korea’s KOSPI rose 0.7%, while Singapore’s Straits Times Index declined 0.4%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 traded broadly flat.
