Asia-Pacific markets trade mixed on Thursday as investors continued to weigh U.S. President Donald Trump's recent trade policy announcement. Investors also responded to China's latest move to reverse its sluggish stock market by prompting insurance funds to raise the size and proportion of their investments in Chinese A-shares, or companies traded on the mainland, and equity funds. Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan is expected to raise rates on Friday, and the European Central Bank may cut rates again next week. Japan ( NKY:IND ) rose 0.89% to around 39,730, while the broader Topix Index gained 0.05% to 2,738 on Thursday, marking the fourth consecutive session of gains for Japanese shares. The Japanese yen held its recent decline to around 156.5 per dollar on Thursday as the Bank of Japan began its two-day policy meeting. Meanwhile, data revealed that Japanese exports exceeded expectations in December, and imports also showed positive growth . China ( SHCOMP ) rose 0.54% to around 3,260 and the Shenzhen Component gaining 0.6% to 10,290, recovering losses from earlier in the week as Beijing intensified support for the struggling stock market. The offshore yuan held its decline around 7.28 per dollar. Meanwhile, the China Securities Regulatory Commission intensified efforts to support the country’s struggling equity markets by announcing measures to inject capital into the market, with insurers expected to deploy at least CNY 100 billion in long-term funds into stocks during the first half of 2025. On Wednesday, China launched initiatives to boost the amount pension can invest in Chinese listed companies. Hong Kong ( HSI ) fell 0.55% to 18,818 in early deals on Thursday. India ( SENSEX ) rose 0.27% to 76,624 in morning trade on Thursday, gaining for the second day, mainly supported by the tech sector, consumer durables, and pharmaceuticals. Australia ( AS51 ) fell 0.61% to close at 8,379 on Thursday, snapping a three-day winning streak, with mining stocks leading the decline amid weaker commodity prices. The South Korean won weakened further past 1,435 per dollar as the latest GDP figures missed forecasts, fueling bets that the Bank of Korea may initiate further rate cuts. In the U.S., on Wednesday, all three major indexes ended higher following a rally in US tech stocks and optimism about AI growth under a new administration. U.S. stock futures were little changed on Thursday after a strong rally in the previous session, with the S&P 500 hitting a new record high: Dow -0.07% ; S&P 500 -0.14% ; Nasdaq -0.22% . Investors are also preparing for next week’s Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting, with the central bank widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged. Market participants are anticipating a rate cut in July, with the possibility of another reduction later in the year. Elsewhere, the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas was disregarded as Israel launched a drone attack in southern Lebanon's Hasbaya area, further lifting gold’s safety appeal. Currencies: ( JPY:USD ), ( CNY:USD ), ( AUD:USD ), ( INR:USD ), ( HKD:USD ), ( NZD:USD ). More on Asia: Japan unexpectedly logs trade surplus, exports hits record high & imports also shows positive growth Trump says he’s thinking of imposing 10% tariffs on China in February With Chinese stocks under scrutiny as Trump takes office, here are SA's top 10 People's Bank of China keeps one and five-year loan prime rates unchanged in Jan, as expected China shows strongest GDP growth in over a year
