Asian Markets Close Thursday Mixed as Investors Brace for Central Banks' Year-End Policy Meetings

05:50 AM EST, 12/18/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stocks were mixed Thursday as investors awaited results of various central banks' year-end policy meetings.

The Bank of Japan is widely expected to announce a rate increase on Friday, potentially taking borrowing costs to their highest level in three decades.

Governor Kazuo Ueda's board is expected to raise the overnight call rate by 25 basis points to 0.75% at the end of its two-day meeting, marking the first increase since January and likely passing unanimously, Bloomberg reported.

As a result, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell by more than 1%, or 510.78 points, to 49,001.50.

The biggest losers from Thursday's session included Japan Steel Works, with a 6.8% decline, and Asahi Group Holdings, which shed 5.7%.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index rose 0.1%, or 29.35 points, to end at 25,498.13. Meanwhile, Hang Seng TECH Index fell 0.7% to 5,418.29.

Top movers in the Hang Seng Index included CSPC Pharmaceutical Group, which closed 6.5% higher, and Hang Lung Properties, which fell by 2.9% at Thursday's close.

In other regional news, the Hong Kong stock exchange has unveiled a proposal to standardize trading units for listed securities, according to a consultation paper.

Meanwhile, the Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.2% to 3,876.37.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI was down 1.5%; the Taiwan TWSE declined 0.2%; the Australian ASX 200 was steady; the Singapore Straits Times Index lost 0.1%, and the Thai Set lost 0.5%.

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