Asia stocks trade lower on Thursday as global investors digested the previous day's policy announcement from the U.S. Federal Reserve. However, the market attention quickly shifted to a highly anticipated high-level meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Investors also assess the BOJ held its short-term interest rate at 0.5%, in line with market expectations, while reiterating that future hikes remain contingent on economic conditions. Meanwhile, investors digested mixed earnings from Big Tech, with Alphabet jumping nearly 7% in extended trading on stronger-than-expected results. Gold prices hovered around $3,930 per ounce on Thursday, holding onto most of its recent losses and remaining close to a three-week low. Thailand’s economy is expected to grow 2.4% this year, higher than a previous forecast of 2.2%, following a series of government stimulus measures and better-than-expected exports, the finance ministry said on Thursday. Japan ( NKY:IND ) fell 0.06% to above 51,500 while the broader Topix Index gained 0.6% to 3,298 on Thursday, with Japanese shares hitting fresh record highs. The Japanese yen depreciated to around 153 per dollar on Thursday, nearing nine-month lows, after the Bank of Japan kept its policy rate unchanged at 0.5%, in line with expectations. The Bank of Japan (BoJ) kept its benchmark short-term interest rate unchanged at 0.5% in October 2025, extending a pause in its policy tightening cycle. The decision, which was largely in line with market expectations, maintains borrowing costs at their highest level since 2008. The central bank also reiterated it will resume policy normalization if economic projections are realized. China ( SHCOMP ) fell 0.33% around the flat line on Thursday, with mainland stocks lacking clear direction as investors awaited signals from the recently concluded meeting between President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump in South Korea after months of tensions, and the offshore yuan traded around 7.09 per dollar on Thursday, holding near a one-year-high. The Group of Seven (G-7) nations are set to announce a critical minerals production alliance aimed at countering China’s dominance in the sector, Bloomberg News reported. Meanwhile, in China, investors are awaiting upcoming PMI releases, with official data due later this week and private surveys scheduled for next week. Hong Kong ( HSI ) fell 0.18% to 26,487 in Thursday morning trade, reversing modest losses from the previous session as trading resumed after Wednesday’s holiday. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) cut its base rate by 25 basis points to 4.25% on October 30, following a similar move by the U.S. Federal Reserve and marking the lowest level since November 2022. India ( SENSEX ) fell 0.48% to 84,617 in morning trade on Thursday, pulling back from a 13-month high reached a day earlier. Australia ( AS51 ) fell 0.46% to around 8,900 on Thursday, extending its nearly 1% decline from the previous session to hover at two-week lows. The Australian dollar strengthened toward $0.660 on Thursday, recouping some losses from the previous session. Australia's export prices dropped by 0.9% q/q in Q3 2025, following a 4.5% decline in Q2 and marking the 2nd decrease this year. Australia’s import prices fell 0.4% quarter-on-quarter in Q3 2025, exceeding market expectations of a 0.3% decline. In the U.S. on Wednesday, all three major indexes ended mixed after Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned a December rate cut is not a foregone conclusion. Investors now await results from Apple and Amazon later in the day. U.S. stock futures mixed on Thursday as investors reacted to mixed results from Big Tech firms, while digesting the latest Federal Reserve interest rate decision and awaiting the highly anticipated Trump-Xi meeting: Dow -0.05% ; S&P 500 +0.02% ; Nasdaq -0.03% . Currencies: ( JPY:USD ), ( CNY:USD ), ( AUD:USD ), ( INR:USD ), ( HKD:USD ), ( NZD:USD ). More on Asia: Bank of Japan holds rates steady at 0.5% as expected, boosts growth forecast China's Q3 GDP 4.8% Y/Y, hits slowest pace since 2024, but beats quarterly expectations PBoC holds key lending rates steady for fifth straight month China's industrial output surges 6.5%, consumer spending slows to 1-year low; jobless rate falls to 5.2% in September Australia jobless rate rises to 4.5% in Sept; employment growth misses estimates
Bitcoin’s Lost Year
