Investing.com - Shares in Tokyo were higher after the Bank of Japan kept monetary policy steady on Wednesday and noted a pickup in exports.
The Bank of Japan board Wednesday decided by an 8 to 1 vote to leave the bank's policy target unchanged and upgraded its assessment of exports and factory output, while warning consumption has been hit by a April 2014 sales tax hike. Board member Takahide Kiuchi remained opposed to the Oct. 31 easing. He continued to propose the BoJ should maintain the high degree of easing only during the two-year period from April 2013 so that it is not overdone. But his proposal was again voted down by the rest of the board.
The Nikkei 225 gained nearly 1%, while many other regional indexes were closed or in shortened trading sessions.
Wednesday also marks the start of the Chinese New Year holidays. Markets in mainland China are already closed until Feb 25. Markets in Hong Kong will observe a shortened session today before holidays for the next two days.
Elsewhere in Asia, many regional markets will be closed from Thursday, and are due to re-open Feb. 23, although trading desks are due to be lightly staffed.
U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Tuesday, as gains in the Health Care, Financials and Oil & Gas sectors led shares higher.
At the close in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.16% to hit a new 1-month high, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.16%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.11%.