Bank of Japan Governor Ueda said the timing and pace of any future rate hikes will be decided after a careful assessment of the likelihood that baseline projections are met and of related risks.

Hong Kong stocks closed higher; HSI rose 0.33% and the Hang Seng Tech Index gained 1.81%. Total turnover was HKD 322.9 bln. Semiconductors, memory, CROs, optical communications and mobile gaming led gains, while domestic retail, China-based brokers, power equipment and rare-earths were among the biggest decliners. Notable movers: 01347.HK up over 15%, 00981.HK up nearly 9%, 02359.HK up over 8%, 00700.HK up over 3%; 00100.HK down over 7%, 03678.HK down nearly 6%, 06680.HK down over 4%, 00968.HK down nearly 4%, 02628.HK down over 3%.

標普500指數跌幅收窄至1%。