Nikkei ends with a profit after a positive Tongan report

TOKYO (AP) – The Tokyo Stock Exchange ended higher on Monday. Bank of Japan’s positive Tongan report shows that confidence among major Japanese companies has stabilized at its highest level since late 2018, providing some support for the business. Large Japanese companies are less optimistic in the coming months due to uncertainty about the impact of the Omikron variant.

In addition, the main focus of this weekend will be the interest rate meetings of the central banks in the United States and Europe. Bank of Japan will also decide the interest rate over the weekend. Tokyo’s leading Nikkei eventually rose 0.7 percent to close at 28,640.49 points.

Chinese stock markets also rose following Beijing’s announcement in 2022 that it would prioritize economic stability. For example, policymakers said at the end of the annual three-day Federal Economic Working Conference that China wants to cut taxes and increase investment in infrastructure next year. . This sparked hopes that it would further boost the world’s second-largest economy. The Shanghai core index, meanwhile, was up 0.7 percent and the Hong Kong Cheng index was up 0.6 percent.

Evergrande

China’s troubled real estate sector has come under pressure after the annual conference, with top Communist Party policymakers reiterating that “housing is not for speculation.” Sick real estate firm Evergrande fell 2.8 percent in Hong Kong. Shimao fell 14 percent due to concerns about the financial situation of the Chinese project developer.

The focus was also on the tense relationship between China and the United States. SenseTime said it was delaying its IPO in Hong Kong after the artificial intelligence company was blacklisted by Washington. As a result, Americans are no longer allowed to do business with Sensethe, which makes its debut in Hong Kong next Friday. Washington accuses the company of creating a face recognition scheme used against Uighurs in Xinjiang. The United States has accused China of committing genocide against Uyghurs in the region.

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SenseTime, Artificial Intelligence, Japan, Europe, Shanghai, Tax-Finance, Beijing, Xinjiang