ASIAN SUMMARY: Regional equities are mostly lower as investors digest the latest news over U.S. budget negotiations. The Nikkei falls 0.8%, the S&P/ASX gains 0.4%, the Kospi adds 0.2%, the HSI declines 0.4%, the Sensex loses 0.6%, and the Shanghai Composite is off 0.5%. In FX markets, the USD/JPY is lower on profit-taking after recent gains as the BOJ's decision to increase asset purchases was in-line with expectations; the USD/JPY is at 83.99 from 84.40 late Wednesday in New York, the EUR/USD is at 1.3210 from 1.3227, and the EUR/JPY is at 110.94 from 111.64. The BOJ decides to take additional easing measures following calls by incoming prime minister Shinzo Abe on the central bank to step up its fight against deflation, but stopped short of adopting a binding 2.0% inflation target that is strongly sought by incoming prime minister Abe; in a widely-anticipated move, the BOJ's policy board expanded the size of its asset-purchase program--the main tool of monetary easing with interest rates already near zero--by Y10 trillion to Y101 trillion. Australia's Treasurer Wayne Swan says achieving a budget surplus in the current fiscal year is "unlikely" because of lower tax revenue in an apparent back-down from a key election pledge for the government. New Zealand's 3Q economic growth slows to 0.2% on-quarter vs 2Q's revised 0.3% growth and was below a 0.35% expansion expected due to weakness in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors in particular, although construction of residential and non-residential buildings picked up. Spot gold is at $1,667.30, up $1.40 from the NY close. January Nymex crude oil futures fall 47 cents to $89.51/bbl.
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