China Central Bank Cuts RRR to 19.5%; Markets Mixed
Dino Lirios | | Feb 05, 2015 01:06 PM EST |
(Photo : Reuters) A resident looks at a brochure of yuan banknotes at a branch of People's Bank of ChinaA resident looks at a brochure of yuan banknotes at a branch of People's Bank of China. China unexpectedly cut interest rates on Friday to stimulate growth.
Markets across Asia reacted differently on news of the central bank of China following its regional neighbors' monetary stimulus movements.
People's Bank of China (PBOC) cut its bank reserve requirement ratio (RRR), or money that major banks must keep with the central bank, by 50 basis points to 19.5 percent, a first in two years time. This would likely unload as much as 600 billion yuan ($96 billion) in the system, according to Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.
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Deutsche Bank economists see this move as positive but insufficient to stabilize the economy by raising loan supply despite low loan demand. The foreign bank expects more easing measures to follow, possibly as soon as the next quarter comes round.
Meanwhile in Europe, heat mounts as the European Central Bank (ECB) abruptly withdrew its acceptance of Greece's proposed band swap on concerns of the nation's current bailout pledges. The ECB says of Greece "it is unable to assume a successful end to the Greek government's bailout talks." This implies that the Greek central bank will need to source billions of euros as emergency liquidity in the coming weeks.
On the commodities front, oil prices rock the boat as Brent oil gains in Asia following quick overnight losses.
In Shanghai, the Shanghai Composite Index opens 2 percent higher after news of the PBOC RRR cut, with Bank of China, Bank of Communications and China Construction Bank gaining 2 percent.
Likewise in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index grew 0.6 percent, led by property shares with China Resources Land adding 4 percent and China Overseas Land inching 3 percent higher.
The Australia Securities Exchange jumps 0.6 percent, a 7-year high, to reverse previous losses. The National Australia Bank rose 1.3 percent after posting net profits of A$1.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2014. Australia New Zealand Banking Group and Commonwealth Bank of Australia were likewise up by 1 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively.
However, not all markets were at a high as Japan's benchmark index NIKKEI fell 1 percent due to feeble quarterly earnings. Hitachi shrank 10 percent with a 1 percent drop in operating profits as Mazda Motor posted only 3 percent in earnings, down 5 percent previously. Sony remained the bright light, rising 12 percent on tripled profits, and smaller-than-expected annual net loss.
The Korean Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dipped 0.5 percent, falling off a 2-month high, on the backs of Shinhan Financial diving 5 percent, down 7.7 percent YoY in fourth-quarter net profit.
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