Nikkei advances as BoJ maintains policy

Markets across Asia have steadied today (March 11th), with most bringing an end to a recent run of losses and closing higher. 

Stocks in mainland China and Hong Kong suffered sharp declines yesterday and extended these falls early in the session after figures showed the level of bank lending in the country was lower than expected last month.

However, the markets subsequently rebounded somewhat and the Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng each closed 0.1 per cent higher for the day.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index added 0.69 per cent to end the session at 15,224.11 points after the Bank of Japan opted to leave its monetary policy unchanged.

The central bank maintained its vow to continue expanding the country's monetary base at a pace of 60 to 70 trillion yen per year, while also reiterating it believes economic growth and inflation are progressing in line with forecasts.

As the yen weakened against the dollar following this announcement, the country's exporting stocks advanced. Honda and Toshiba led the way with gains of 2.9 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively.