Asian shares jump as China cuts key lending benchmark

Asian shares jump as China cuts key lending benchmark

China cut its five-year loan prime rate (LPR) by 15 basis points on Friday morning, a sharper cut than had been expected, as authorities seek to cushion an economic slowdown, though it left the one-year LPR unchanged. The five-year rate influences the pricing of mortgages.







Reuters









May 20, 2022 / 08:17 AM IST





Asian shares jumped in early trade on Friday after China cut a key lending benchmark to support a slowing economy, but a gauge of global equities remained set for its longest weekly losing streak on record amid investor worries about sluggish growth.

China cut its five-year loan prime rate (LPR) by 15 basis points on Friday morning, a sharper cut than had been expected, as authorities seek to cushion an economic slowdown, though it left the one-year LPR unchanged. The five-year rate influences the pricing of mortgages.

Most respondents to a Reuters poll had expected a marginal 5-basis-point cut to both rates.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan quickly built on early gains after the cut, and was last up 1.4 percent.

Chinese blue-chips were 1.1 percent higher in early trade and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped more