Asia-Pacific markets mostly rise ahead of Bank of Japan decision

Asia-Pacific markets mostly rise ahead of Bank of Japan decision

Published Thu, Jan 22 2026

6:53 PM EST

Updated 14 Min Ago

Key Points

• Investors are looking ahead to the Bank of Japan's decision.
• Asia-Pacific markets mostly climbed, tracking Wall Street gains as geopolitical concerns eased.

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. Photographer: Akio Kon/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Asia-Pacific markets mostly climbed Friday, tracking Wall Street gains as geopolitical concerns eased and investors looked ahead to the Bank of Japan's decision.

The central bank is expected to hold rates at 0.75%, according to economists polled by Reuters.

HSBC said it expects the Bank of Japan's next 25 basis point hike to come in July 2026, but warned that further yen depreciation could bring forward the timing and open the door to more rate increases.

The bank flagged April as a possible alternative, citing the release of the BOJ's quarterly Outlook report and improved clarity on this year's Shunto wage talks, with another 25 bps hike potentially following later in 2026.

Japan's headline inflation rate in December slowed sharply to 2.1%, its lowest level since March 2022. Its core inflation rate came in at 2.4% on year, in line with analysts' estimates.

Japan's Nikkei 225 inched 0.09% higher, while the Topix added 027%. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.7%, while the small-cap Kosdaq was 0.74% higher.

Investors in the region will also be keeping an eye on Asian chipmakers after shares of California-based Intel plummeted 13% in after-hours U.S. trading on its soft guidance for the current quarter, despite posting fourth-quarter earnings beat Thursday.

Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 26,917, higher than the HSI's last close of 26,629.96.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was flat in early trade.

Overnight in the U.S., the main benchmarks extended their gains from the previous session after Greenland tensions ease.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 306.78 points, or 0.63%, and closed at 49,384.01. The 30-stock index recovered from the losses seen earlier this week following President Donald Trump's new Europe tariffs announcement.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.55% and ended at 6,913.35. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.91% and settled at 23,436.02, supported by gains in Nvidia, Microsoft and Meta Platforms

—CNBC's Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed to this report.

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