China keeps LPR steady, New Zealand exits recession

Asia-Pacific markets were mostly lower on Thursday as China kept its one- and five-year loan prime rates unchanged.

The one-year loan prime rate serves as a benchmark for most corporate and household loans, while the five-year rate serves as a peg for property mortgages. The one-year LPR currently stands at 3.45%, while the five-year LPR is at 3.95%.

Earlier this week, the People’s Bank of China kept the 1-year medium-term lending facility rate steady at 2.5%.

Mainland China’s CSI 300 dipped 0.49% after the announcement, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell by 0.48%.

Top losers in Hong Kong include hot pot chain Haidilao which plummeted 6.13%, as well as Shenzhou International Group and Budweiser Brewing Company APAC, which lost 4.31% and 3.73% respectively.

South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.42%, while the small-cap Kosdaq slipped 0.41%. Shares of HMM, the country’s largest container ship, climbed more than 3%.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.15% and the broad-based Topix slipped 0.36%.

The Taiwan Weighted Index touched new highs for the third day in a row and was up 0.43%.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.15%. Shares of Mexican-themed fast food chain Guzman y Gomez rose as much as 3.91% after its market debut on the Australian Stock Exchange on Thursday.

Data out of New Zealand showed the economy exited a technical recession, growing 0.2% quarter-on-quarter in the first three months of the year and beating Reuters poll expectations of a 0.1% expansion. On a year-on-year basis, the economy grew 0.2%.