Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 1.2% higher on Wednesday, demonstrating the market’s recovery following the crash that took place earlier this week and saw the index suffer its biggest daily loss since 1987.
Fresh comments from Shinichi Uchida, deputy governor of the Bank of Japan (BOJ), regarding the country’s commitment to not impose further interest rate hikes, seemed to calm investors and rally the market.
“We won’t raise interest rates when financial markets are unstable,” Uchida was quoted by Reuerts as saying in a speech to Japanese executives. “As we’re seeing sharp volatility in domestic and overseas financial markets, it’s necessary to maintain current levels of monetary easing for the time being.”
The publication of Uchida’s remarks led the US dollar to surge more than 2% to 147.77 against the yen. Meanwhile, South Korea’s Kospi finished up 1.8%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was 1.3% higher. Taiwan’s Taiex closed up 3.9%. Tokyo’s Topix index closed 2.3% higher.
In Europe, the Stoxx 600 index was 0.8% higher on the day in morning trade. In the US, Dow futures ticked up 0.6%, S&P 500 futures were up 0.7% and Nasdaq futures 0.8% higher.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended 1% higher on Tuesday, ending three consecutive days of declines.
