Investors in Asia assessed July pay data out of Japan, which could provide more room to the Bank of Japan for raising rates. Average monthly cash earnings in the country rose 3.6% year-on-year, a softer rise compared to the 4.5% climb seen in June. The World’s busiest pedestrian crossing © Marco Bottigelli | Moment | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets closed mixed on Thursday after a sell-off in the previous session, with Japan’s Nikkei leading losses in the region.
The Nikkei 225 fell 1.05% to close at 36,657.09, while the broad-based Topix fell 0.48% to end at 2,620.76, after the release of Japan’s July wage data.
Average monthly cash earnings in the country rose 3.6% year on year, a softer rise compared to the 4.5% climb seen in June.
Real wages climbed 0.4% year on year, rising for a second straight month after a 1.1% rise in June.
The strong pay report offers the Bank of Japan more room for a rate hike, which could put pressure on equities. Bank of Japan board member Hajime Takata said the central bank “must keep raising rates if it can confirm that companies will continue to increase spending and wages,” Reuters reported.
Other economic data coming from the region include retail sales numbers from Singapore.
Separately, Australian telecom operator Optus has received the green light from the country’s Competition and Consumer Commission for its proposed regional network and spectrum sharing agreement with rival TPG Telecom.
Optus, which is owned by Singapore’s Singtel, announced the agreement in April, after having lobbied against a similar merger between TPG and Telstra, Australia’s largest telco.
The Hang Seng index was down 0.24%
