Asia markets mixed after Fed rate cut; Japan hits new record high

[Financial stock market numbers and city light reflection]
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Asia stocks trade mixed on Thursday, with Japan rallying to a new record high after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates. However, shares in Australia and New Zealand fell, with losses in Australia's energy sector dragging down the market despite a soft jobs report that had bolstered bets for a domestic rate cut.

Elsewhere, the Bank of Canada also lowered its policy rate by 25 bps, while the Bank of England and Bank of Japan are expected to keep policy steady this week.

Silver slipped below $41.5 per ounce on Thursday. Gold hovered around $3,650 per ounce on Thursday, holding losses from the previous session.

Japan (NKY:IND [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NKY:IND]) rose 1.20% toward 45,000 while the Topix added 0.1% to 3,150 on Thursday, with Japanese stocks rebounding from the prior session. The Japanese yen [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/USD:JPY#hasComeFromMpArticle=false#source=section%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews] slipped past 147 per dollar on Thursday, retreating from a two-month-high hit in the prior session.

Japan’s core machinery orders—which exclude volatile sectors such as ships and electric power—fell 4.6% month-over-month to ¥898 billion in July 2025, reversing a 3% increase in June and coming in well below expectations for a 1.7% decline.

Domestically, the Bank of Japan began its two-day policy meeting, where rates are expected to be kept unchanged as officials assess the impact of US tariffs on Japan’s export-driven economy.

China (SHCOMP [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SHCOMP]) fell 1.19% to around 3,885 while the Shenzhen Component added 0.5% to 13,280 on Thursday, with mainland benchmarks touching fresh multi-year highs, and the offshore yuan [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/USD:CNY#source=url_first_level%3Amarket-news%7Csection%3Aglobal%7Csection_asset%3Afull_story%7Cbutton%3Abody_link] weakened to around 7.10 per dollar on Thursday, snapping a three-day winning streak and after touching a more than ten-month high in the previous session.

The People’s Bank of China injected a net CNY 195 billion into the banking system [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4495905-chinas-central-bank-injects-cny-195b-into-banking-system-maintains-key-interest-rate-of-14] on Thursday, continuing its efforts to boost liquidity. This was achieved by conducting CNY 487 billion in reverse repos at an unchanged interest rate of 1.4%.

China is halting its antitrust investigation into Google, according to the Financial Times on Thursday, as trade negotiations between Beijing and Washington heat up over tech giants like TikTok and Nvidia. China’s cyberspace regulator has ordered companies, including Alibaba, to halt orders for Nvidia’s RTX Pro 6000D, a workstation chip that can be adapted for AI, Bloomberg News reported.

Hong Kong (HSI [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/HSI]) fell 1.67% to 26,954 on Thursday morning, advancing for the second session and holding near four-year highs.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority followed, lowering borrowing costs to 4.5%, the lowest since November 2022. Chief Executive Eddie Yue said the move should support property and the wider economy.

India (SENSEX [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SENSEX]) rose 0.40% to 82,992 in morning trade on Thursday, marking its third consecutive gain and reaching its highest level since July 10.

Australia (AS51 [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AS51]) fell 0.83% to around 8,745 on Thursday, extending losses to a two-week low. The Australian dollar [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AUD:USD#hasComeFromMpArticle=false#source=section%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews] traded around $0.665 on Thursday, holding its losses from the previous session, as markets digested a softer-than-expected domestic jobs report.

Australia's new data shows [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4495903-australias-jobless-rate-holds-steady-at-42-employment-unexpectedly-eases-in-august] that net employment fell by 5,400 in August, significantly missing forecasts for a gain. The decline was largely driven by a sharp drop of 40,900 full-time jobs. While the unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%, the overall participation rate fell, signaling a gradual softening in the labor market.

In the U.S. on Wednesday, all three major indexes ended mixed [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4495690-sp500-nasdaq-composite-dow-jones-stock-market-news] as investors weighed the Federal Reserve’s rate outlook following the anticipated 25bps cut.

U.S. stock futures advanced on Thursday as investors digested the Federal Reserve’s latest policy decision: Dow +0.22%; S&P 500 +0.34%; Nasdaq +0.50%.

CURRENCIES: (JPY:USD [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/JPY:USD]), (CNY:USD [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CNY:USD]), (AUD:USD [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AUD:USD]), (INR:USD [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/INR:USD]), (HKD:USD [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/HKD:USD]), (NZD:USD [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NZD:USD]).

MORE ON ASIA:

China's central bank injects CNY 195B into banking system, maintains key interest rate of 1.4% [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4495905-chinas-central-bank-injects-cny-195b-into-banking-system-maintains-key-interest-rate-of-14#source=url_first_level%3Amarket-news%7Csection%3Amarket-pulse%7Csection_asset%3Anews_title]

Australia's jobless rate holds steady at 4.2%, employment unexpectedly eases in August [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4495903-australias-jobless-rate-holds-steady-at-42-employment-unexpectedly-eases-in-august#source=url_first_level%3Amarket-news%7Csection%3Amarket-pulse%7Csection_asset%3Anews_title]

Japan's trade deficit narrows significantly in August, exports see smallest drop in four months, imports hit six-month low [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4495498-japans-trade-deficit-narrows-significantly-in-august-exports-see-smallest-drop-in-four-months-imports-hit-six-month-low#source=url_first_level%3Amarket-news%7Csection%3Amarket-pulse%7Csection_asset%3Anews_title]

China's industrial output and retail sales miss expectations in August; jobless rate ticks up [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4494707-chinas-industrial-output-and-retail-sales-miss-expectations-in-august-jobless-rate-ticks-up#source=url_first_level%3Amarket-news%7Csection%3Amarket-pulse%7Csection_asset%3Anews_title]

Japan’s industrial production falls 1.2% in July amid trade uncertainty; Japan and U.S. reaffirm G7 currency policy [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4494284-japans-industrial-production-falls-12-in-july-amid-trade-uncertainty-japan-and-us-reaffirm-g7-currency-policy#source=url_first_level%3Amarket-news%7Csection%3Amarket-pulse%7Csection_asset%3Anews_title]