Asia-Pacific markets flat in thin holiday trading, PBoC holds MLF rate steady for third month

Asia-Pacific markets trade flat on Wednesday in thin holiday trading; investors assess data from China, as it held the interest rate on the one-year medium-term lending facility steady at 2% and drained the most cash since 2014 with a one-year policy tool. Japan ( NKY:IND ) flat. Japan’s leading economic indicators index, which gauges the economic outlook for the coming months based on data such as job offers and consumer sentiment, stood at 109.1 in October 2024, topping preliminary data of 108.6 and September's reading of 108.9. The index of coincident economic indicators in Japan, which includes data such as factory output, employment, and retail sales, was at 116.8 in October 2024, above the flash estimate of 116.5 and September's reading of 114.0. China ( SHCOMP ) rose +0.04% on Wednesday to around 3,394.81, and the offshore yuan stabilized at 7.30 per dollar after the People's Bank of China held its MLF rate steady for a third month . Hong Kong ( HSI ) market closed India ( SENSEX ) market closed Australia ( AS51 ) market closed In the U.S., on Tuesday, all three major indexes ended higher on a shortened trading day for Christmas Eve, with the S&P 500 gaining 1.1% and the Dow Jones adding 390 points, marking its best performance on the holiday since 2022. The Nasdaq 100 led the rally, rising 1.3%, its strongest Christmas Eve performance since 2000. Currencies: ( JPY:USD ), ( CNY:USD ), ( AUD:USD ), ( INR:USD ), ( HKD:USD ), ( NZD:USD ). More on Asia: PBoC holds MLF rate steady for third month, withdraws largest cash since 2014 RBA minutes: Underscores need to maintain restrictive monetary policy for the time being People's Bank of China keeps key lending rates steady for second straight month, as expected Japan’s Nov headline inflation rate rises to three-month high of 2.9%; core inflation tops forecast Bank of Japan keeps policy rate unchanged at 0.25%, as widely expected