Japanese stocks surged ahead of next week's BoJ meeting, amid reports of another central bank stimulus move
It was a mixed end to the week for Asian stocks. Japan's Nikkei drove higher for the fourth time in five sessions, popping 1.2% on
continued weakness in the yen -- ahead of next week's Bank of Japan (BoJ) meeting, with
Bloomberg reporting the central bank could be poised to drop rates on bank loans into negative territory. Also finishing on the positive side of the ledger was China's Shanghai Composite, which added 0.2%, but still logged a 3.9% weekly decline. On the other hand, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and South Korea's Kospi ended lower, giving up a respective 0.7% and 0.3%.
European markets are lower, pressured by a
stateside sell-off, a disappointing eurozone purchasing managers index (PMI) reading, and a slump among automaker and mining stocks. While France's PMI edged higher from the prior month, the French CAC 40 was last seen 0.3% lower. Germany's DAX is likewise down 0.4%, following a month-over-month dip in business activity and a 6.5% drop in shares of Daimler on news of a U.S. emissions probe. Rounding things out, London's FTSE 100 has slumped 1.1%.
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