Asian Shares Mostly Higher After BoE Move

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks followed Wall Street higher on Thursday after the Bank of England stepped in to buy U.K. debt, helping ease volatility in the currency and bond markets.

Chinese shares gave up early gains to end on a flat note ahead of a seven-day holiday called Golden Week from 1-7 October. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index finished 0.13 percent lower at 3,041.20, giving up early gains.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended down 0.49 percent at 17,165.87 after having hit its lowest since October 2011 earlier in the day.

The yuan rebounded from a 14-year low against the dollar after the People's Bank of China warned against speculative trading and heavy one-way bets on the currency.

Japanese shares advanced, led by gains in the mining, pharmaceutical and land transportation sectors. The Nikkei average rose 0.95 percent to 26,422.05 while the broader Topix index ended 0.74 percent higher at 1,868.80.

Uniqlo clothing shop owner Fast Retailing jumped 2.2 percent and technology investor SoftBank Group gained 1.9 percent. Eisai jumped 13.6 percent to extend gains after the surprise trial success of an experimental Alzheimer's drug.

Seoul stocks ended off their day's highs as some of the euphoria over the BoE's intervention started to fade. The Kospi average added 1.64 points to close at 2,170.93, after having hit a high of 2,210.61 earlier. LG Energy Solutions and Hyundai Motor both rose over 1 percent.

Australian markets rallied as higher oil prices boosted energy stocks. Gold miners, financials and tech stocks also posted significant gains. The benchmark S&P ASX 200 gained 1.44 percent to settle at 6,555 while the broader All Ordinaries index added 1.51 percent to close at 6,760.60.

Woodside Energy jumped 3.1 percent and Santos advanced 2.3 percent. Iress plunged 17.30 percent after the software provider downgraded its fiscal 2022 profit guidance. New Zealand shares rose notably, with exporters having a good day. The benchmark S&P nZX-50 index climbed 0.72 percent to 11,200.04.

Campervan maker and retailer Tourism Holdings rallied 2.9 percent after Australia's competition watchdog approved its proposed merger with Apollo Tourism & Leisure.

Earlier today, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand proposed changes to the means by which banks should apply risk weighting to their exposures under capital adequacy rules.

U.S. stocks bounced back overnight, bond yields eased, and the dollar pulled back after the Bank of England (BoE) said it would buy long-dated government bonds on "whatever scale is necessary" to address dysfunction in the gilt market.

The Dow climbed 1.9 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rallied 2.1 percent and the S&P 500 added 2 percent.