Asian shares higher in thin holiday trading

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares rose Monday in Asia in thin post-Christmas holiday trading, with markets in Hong Kong, Sydney and several other places closed.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index gained 0.6% to 26,393.32 and the Kospi in Seoul added 0.2% to 2,318.54. The Shanghai Composite index rose 0.5% to 3,061.93 and the SET in Bangkok added 0.6%.

Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda indicated in a widely watched speech Monday that the central bank does not intend to alter its longstanding policy of monetary easing to cope with pressures from inflation on the world's third-largest economy.

Last week, markets were jolted by a slight adjustment in the target range for the yield of long-term Japanese government bonds, viewing it as a sign the Bank of Japan might finally unwind its massive support for the economy through ultra-low interest rates and purchases of bonds and other assets.

A widening gap between interest rates in Japan and other countries has pulled the Japanese yen sharply lower against the U.S. dollar and other currencies and accentuated the impact of higher costs for many imported products and commodities.

But the BOJ has kept its key lending rate at minus 0.1%, cautious over risks of recession.

Kuroda told the Keidanren, the country's most powerful business group, that with economies facing likely downward pressure, and with Japan's economy not fully recovered from the impacts of the pandemic, the BOJ “deems it necessary to conduct monetary easing and thereby firmly support the economy. ..."

On Friday, the S&P 500 reversed a 0.7% loss to close 0.6% higher, at 3,844.82. With one week left of trading in 2022, the benchmark index is down 19.3% for the year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5% to 33,203.93, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq edged 0.2% higher, to...