Asia-Pacific markets trade lower ahead of Bank of Japan rate decision

Asia-Pacific markets were largely lower on Friday ahead of the Bank of Japan’s rate decision.

Economists polled by Reuters expect the BOJ will maintain its benchmark interest rate at 0%-0.1%, but Nikkei reported the central bank is considering reducing its holdings of Japanese government bonds.

The BOJ currently aims to purchase about 6 trillion yen ($38.5 billion) in bonds per month, and has informed the market of plans to purchase between 4.8 trillion yen and 7 trillion yen of bonds per month.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.17% in early trading, while the Topix was 0.2% higher, the only benchmark in positive territory.

South Korea’s Kospi was down marginally, and the small cap Kosdaq was 1.22% lower.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.37%.

Hong Kong Hang Seng index was down 0.94%, while the CSI 300 on mainland China slipped 0.14%.

Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 rose to post a fourth consecutive record close as traders weighed more data showing inflation pressures may be easing.

The broad market index climbed 0.23% to end at 5,433.74, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.34% and closed at 17,667.56. Thursday marked the fourth straight closing record for both S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the underperformer, slipping 0.17%.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit record levels this week, boosted by fresh data showing signs of inflation pressures cooling.

—CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han and Sarah Min contributed to this report.