Japanese markets rally after BoJ hikes interest rate

Asian stocks climbed on Wednesday while the yen turned volatile after the Bank of lifted short-term policy rates and announced plans to reduce monthly bond buying in a hawkish pivot.

Japanese markets rallied after the country's central bank hiked its key interest rate to 0.25 percent in a surprise move and laid out a detailed plan to pare monthly bond buying in stages.

The Nikkei average jumped 1.49 percent to 39,101.82 while the broader Topix index settled 1.45 percent higher at 2,794.26.

In other economic releases, Japanese retail sales rose 3.7 percent in June from a year earlier, while factory output dropped in the month, separate set of data showed today.

 

Industrial output in Japan dropped a seasonally adjusted 3.6 percent on month in June, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Wednesday.

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