Stocks in Asia Pacific traded mixed Thursday morning after the U.S. Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged.
Mainland Chinese stocks slipped in morning trade, with the Shanghai composite down 0.13% while the Shenzhen component shed 0.362%.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.3% while the Topix index added about 0.1%. South Korea's Kospi also advanced 0.26%.
Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.68%.
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.46% higher.
In a widely expected move, the Fed on Wednesday kept its benchmark overnight lending rate near zero.
"The focus now turns to the September meeting where the expectation is the Fed will provide more forward guidance," Tapas Strickland, director of economics at National Australia Bank, wrote in a note.
"At some point the Fed may also look to increase the rate of bond purchases to offset any increase in issuance on the back of increased fiscal spending and focus will remain on the prospects of the Fed to adopt yield curve control at some point in the future," Strickland said.
On the economic data front, Japanese retail sales for June declined 1.2% as compared to a year ago, according to a preliminary report by the country's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. That compared against a median market forecast for a 6.5% year-on-year decline, according to Reuters.
Singapore bank shares fall
Meanwhile, shares of Singapore banks tumbled in morning trade: DBS Group dropped 3.19% while Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation fell 2.81% and United Overseas Bank slipped 2.4% The broader Straits Times index also shed 0.65%.
The moves came after the Monetary Authority of Singapore on Wednesday called on locally-incorporated banks headquartered in Singapore to "moderate" their dividends for fiscal year 2020.
"While the Local Banks' capital positions are strong, the dividend restrictions are a pre-emptive measure to bolster their resilience and capacity to support lending to businesses and individuals through an uncertain period ahead for our economy," the Singapore central bank said in a media release.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 93.415 after earlier slipping from levels above 93.6.
The Japanese yen traded at 105.02 per dollar following its strengthening earlier in the trading week from levels above 105.3 against the greenback. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7177 after rising from levels below $0.712 this week.
Oil prices dipped in the morning of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures 0.16% lower at $43.68 per barrel. U.S. crude futures were about 0.1% lower at $41.22 per barrel.
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July 30, 2020 at 06:35AM
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Asia Pacific stocks mixed as U.S. Fed keeps rates on hold; Japan's June retail sales declines 1.2% on-year - CNBC
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