By Gina Lee
Investing.com – Asian stocks were mixed on Monday morning as China cut its benchmark lending rate.
In its second cut to the loan prime rates this year, the People’s Bank of China slashed its one-year rate to 3.85% from 4.05%. It also cut the five-year loan prime rate to 4.65% from 4.75%.
China’s Shanghai Composite was up 0.46% by 10:59 PM ET (3:59 AM GMT) while the Shenzhen Component gained a modest 0.43% despite the news.
China Mobile Ltd (HK:0941) will report its earnings later in the day.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1.10% even as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced a JPY 117.1 trillion ($1.088 trillion) economic stimulus package.
The package was boosted from JPY 108.2 trillion by expanding cash payouts, and the package could be approved later in the day.
Down Under, the ASX 200 fell 0.97% as the Reserve Bank of Australia releases its Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes on Tuesday.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was up by 0.11% and South Korea’s KOSPI gained 0.20%.
Investors are taking a wait-and-see approach.
“The longer investors have to contemplate future economic issues while they wait for more countries to be on the downward slope of the pandemic curve, the more scope there is of risk assets pricing in a difficult future,” Chris Iggo, Core Investments CIO, told Bloomberg.