Asia report: Most markets rise as Australia pauses rate hikes

Most markets in the Asia-Pacific region saw gains on Tuesday, as the Reserve Bank of Australia decided to keep interest rates steady, pausing its hiking cycle.

“Asian equity markets traded with a mixed tone, with some centres carving out modest gains,” said TickMill Group market analyst Patrick Muinnelly.

“The upside was capped, given the choppy action seen on Wall Street, where manufacturing data indicated a further retreat in inflationary pressures and a softening in labour tightness.

“This led US investors to hit the buy button but buyers remorse soon set in and markets duly retreated before retesting the highs into the close of trade.”

Munnelly said some of the choppiness might have been related to new quarter and month flows adding late support.

“Overnight, as expected the Reserve Bank of Australia tapped the brakes on rate rises, but left the door open to future moves.”

Most bourses close in positive territory

The Nikkei 225 in Japan rose 0.35% to 28,287.42, while the Topix index increased by 0.25% to 2,022.76.

Shares of Nippon Yusen, Shiseido, and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha were among the top performers in Tokyo, rising by 3.64%, 3.46%, and 3.4%, respectively.

In China, the Shanghai Composite climbed 0.49% to 3,312.56, but the Shenzhen Component declined by 0.25% to 11,859.48.

Shares of China Railway Tielong and China Railway were the biggest gainers in Shanghai, surging by 10.04% and 10.03%, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell by 0.66% to 20,274.59, with Li Ning Co, Meituan, and Country Garden Services among the biggest decliners, dropping by 4.37%, 4.36%, and 4.09%, respectively.

In South Korea, the Kospi index rose 0.33% to 2,480.51, with shares of Hanmi Pharmaceutical and SK IE Technology among the top performers, surging by 13.58% and 12.78%, respectively.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index increased by 0.18% to 7,236.00, with Whitehaven Coal and Gold Road Resources among the top gainers, rising by 5.66% and 4.83%, respectively.

Finally, the S&P/NZX 50 in New Zealand rose by 0.5% to 11,898.56, with Serko and Meridian Energy among the top performers, climbing by 3.91% and 3.51%, respectively.

In the currency markets, the yen was last 0.33% weaker against the dollar at JPY 132.90, while the Aussie was off 0.48% at AUD 1.4808, and the Kiwi retreated 0.03% against the greenback to change hands at NZD 1.5885.

On the energy front, Brent crude futures were last up 0.37% on ICE at $85.24 per barrel, while the NYMEX quote for West Texas Intermediate increased 0.47% to $80.80.

Australian central bank pauses rate hikes, Korean inflation slows

At the top of the economic agenda was the news that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) would maintain its benchmark cash rate rate at 3.6%.

The move marked the first time the central bank halted its hiking cycle since it started raising rates in April last year.

In a statement, the RBA cited "considerable uncertainty" and the need to assess the state of the economy and the outlook as reasons for its decision to stand pat on rates.

“The door has not been shut to hiking the cash rate again, but the appetite to deliver another hike has been watered down compared with the March statement,” noted analysts at TD Securities.

“If the Bank pauses again in May, then August is the next likely month the RBA could hike.

“However, we anticipate the RBA is done hiking, and forecast the cash rate remaining on hold at 3.6% this year before rates are cut from the first quarter of next year.”

Elsewhere, South Korea's consumer price index for March slowed to 4.2% on a year-on-year basis.

The print was slightly lower than economist expectations of 4.3%, and was lower than February's rate of 4.8%.

On a monthly basis, the March CPI rose 0.2%, which was lower than the previous month's figure of 0.3%.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.