World stocks were taking a breather on Thursday after a strong few weeks and ahead of a Bank of England rate decision, while Japanese authorities ratcheted up intervention talk again as the yen continued to backslide
The region’s bond and FX markets meanwhile were happy to take it easy ahead of the day’s big event - the Bank of England’s 1100 GMT interest rate decision, where it is widely expected to leave UK rates at 5.25 per cent, where they’ve been since August. Customs figures showed that China’s imports jumped 8.4 per cent in April from a year earlier, beating expectations for a rise of 4.8 per cent, while exports returned to growth, meeting forecasts, in a boost to economic growth.
In other markets, Japan’s Nikkei reversed earlier gains to be off 0.34 per cent, closing at 38,073.98. Australia’s resources-heavy share market lost 1.1 per cent while South Korea also retreated 1 per cent. Japan’s top currency diplomat Masato Kanda had said overnight there was no limit for reserves in currency intervention, keeping traders on edge, while minutes from the Bank of Japan’s April meeting also showed policymakers had turned overwhelmingly hawkish.
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