Bank of Japan, Bank of Japan, Japanese CPI, Fed rate cuts | Real Time Headlines

Asia-Pacific markets opened higher on Friday, led by Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, while Wall Street stocks soared overnight after the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates.

At the end of a two-day meeting on Friday, the Bank of Japan held its benchmark interest rate steady at around 0.25%, the highest rate since 2008.

Japanese core consumer price index Year-on-year growth was 2.8%, in line with Reuters forecasts, after rising 2.7% last month. Excluding fresh food and energy, inflation was 2%, compared with 1.9% last month.

The data will be the last indicator on the economy before the Bank of Japan concludes its two-day monetary policy meeting, where it is expected to keep interest rates unchanged at 0.25%.

The yen rose 0.13% to 142.44 against the dollar.

China didn’t bother me either.ts main loan interest rateThe prime rate for a one-year loan (affecting business and most home loans) is 3.35%, and the prime rate for a five-year loan (a reference for mortgage rates) is 3.85%.

Japanese Nikkei 225 Index Up more than 2%, the Topix rose 1.53%.

Hong Kong Hang Seng Index The CSI 300 Index edged down 1.09%, and the CSI 300 Index edged down 0.18%.

South Korea’s blue-chip Kospi rose 1.01%, while the Kosdaq index of small-cap stocks rose 1.15%.

Australian S&P/ASX 200 Index It rose slightly by 0.51%.

All three major U.S. stock indexes closed higher overnight, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 1.26% to close at 42,025.19 points, surpassing the 42,000-point mark for the first time.

The S&P 500 index rose 1.7% to close at 5,713.64 points, breaking through 5,700 points for the first time.

this Nasdaq Index It rose 2.51% to close at 18,013.98.

All three major stock indexes posted weekly gains, with the S&P 500 index rising nearly 1.6% as of Thursday’s close. The Dow gained 1.5% for the week, while the Nasdaq gained 1.9%, outperforming the broader market.

—CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han and Hakyung Kim contributed to this report.