The Bank of Japan raised interest rates to their highest level since 1995, a move that failed to lift the yen as Asian stocks mostly advanced in line with a Wall Street rally. The decision passed by a 7-2 majority, and the yen slipped to more than 157 to the dollar from around 156 earlier, even as Tokyo's Nikkei 225 closed up 1.4 percent at 65,018.95. Seoul, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taipei, Mumbai and Bangkok all advanced, while Singapore, Wellington, Jakarta and Manila fell and Sydney was barely moved; London, Paris and Frankfurt dipped. Oil's retreat eased inflation concerns, with West Texas Intermediate down 1.7 percent at $100.22 per barrel and Brent down 2.0 percent at $102.70, after Saudi Arabia moved to restore within days about half of crude shipments disrupted by the stoppage of its East-West pipeline to the Red Sea. The 10-year US Treasury yield stayed back below five percent, and attention now turns to Governor Kazuo Ueda's news conference later in the day.
BOJ raised its policy rate to a three-decade high, pushing JGB yields up.
