Investing.com - Asian shares held weaker on Thursday after the Bank of Japan held steady and with South Korea in focus as well as comments on free trade in North America from the White House
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.40%. The Bank of Japan held policy steady as widely expected, but raises its assessment of the economy.
The BoJ increased its real gross domestic product (GDP) forecast for the 2017-18 fiscal year to 1.6% from 1.5%, while keeping its target yield for the benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond at around 0% and ¥80 trillion annual pace of expansion of its monetary base.
Meanwhile, the European Central Bank's rate decision is expected at 7:45 p.m.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged down 0.05%, while South Korea's Kospi was nearly flat after Samsung Electronics (KS:005930) said its Q1 profits were the best since 2013 due to solid earnings from the memory chip segment, according to Reuters. Samsung shares initially dropped more than 1.8% after the company said it would not be introducing a holding company structure. Shares later recovered to trade around 1.3% higher.
Elsewhere, thee White House signaled it will not move to abandon the North American Free Trade Agreement as earlier reported, sending the Canadian and Mexican currencies higher.
"Late this afternoon, President Donald J. Trump spoke with both President Peña Nieto of Mexico and Prime Minister Trudeau of Canada," the White House said.
"Both conversations were pleasant and productive. President Trump agreed not to terminate NAFTA at this time and the leaders agreed to proceed swiftly, according to their required internal procedures, to enable the renegotiation of the NAFTA deal to the benefit of all three countries. President Trump said, "it is my privilege to bring NAFTA up to date through renegotiation. It is an honor to deal with both President Peña Nieto and Prime Minister Trudeau, and I believe that the end result will make all three countries stronger and better."
Also in the U.S. proposed changes in the tax system included a cut in the corporate tax rate from 35% to 15%, the plan left investors with questions on whether the changes would increased the budget deficit.
"Having bought the rumor, U.S. investors sold after the unveiling of President Trump's tax plan," CMC Markets' Chief Market Strategist Michael McCarthy said in a note to clients.
"Although the initial response was positive ... the looming market close sparked a minor panic ... The key question for Asia Pacific investors revolves around the potential for the sentiment reversal to erase yesterday's gains," he said, adding that the strengthening dollar could work against regional markets excluding Japan.
The Shanghai Composite fell 0.42%, while the Hang Seng Index declined 0.04%.
Overnight, U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Wednesday, as losses in the Consumer Goods, Oil & Gas and Basic Materials sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.10%, while the S&P 500 index lost 0.05%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 0.01%.