Asian stocks surged on Friday after the Bank of England eased monetary policy to avert potential recession as global risks and low investors’ confidence in the economy begins to affect new investments in the country.
The MSCI Asia Index rose 0.1 percent to 135.39 as of 8:45 a.m. in Tokyo, reducing its losses this week to 0.7 percent. Japan’s Topix gained 0.2 percent following the Bank of Japan decision to boost daily exchange traded fund purchases.
The Bank of England cut rate by 25 basis points to record low of 0.25 percent on Thursday.
“In spite of the fact that it’s the first rate cut in seven years in the U.K., it was widely picked that this would occur,” said Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets Asia Pacific Pty in Sydney. Markets will be in wait-and-see mode before U.S. payrolls “and the potential impact on Fed actions and U.S. interest rates.”
The U.S. job market is expected to add more jobs in July, according to economists.
