Investing.com – Asian stocks were broadly lower on Thursday as trading remained feeble and major stock indexes were closed for the holidays, while Japanese stocks rose after a report showed Japan planning a record budget for the coming fiscal year.

Stock exchanges in Indonesia and Hong Kong were closed for Christmas, while markets in Australia and New Zealand were closed on Thursday for the Christmas holiday.

U.S. stock index futures were largely stable in Asian trading on Thursday.

Asian markets have suffered losses in recent sessions after the Federal Reserve signaled a slower pace of interest rate cuts in 2025 – a scenario that bodes ill for risk assets.

Japan shares jump on record budget plans; stronger bets on interest rate increases

The Japanese index rose by almost 1% on Thursday, while gaining 0.6%.

Japan’s government is preparing a record $735 billion budget for the fiscal year starting in April, driven by rising social security and debt service spending, according to a draft obtained by Reuters.

The 115.5 trillion yen budget proposal comes as the Bank of Japan is abandoning its 10-year stimulus program, increasing pressure on the government to take a greater role in supporting the economy.

BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Wednesday that the economy is expected to make progress toward sustainably achieving the central bank’s 2% inflation target next year, suggesting an interest rate hike may be imminent.

However, he stressed the importance of carefully assessing the impact of uncertainty on global economies, in particular the policies of the future US administration under President-elect Donald Trump.

China’s stock markets fell despite novel stimulus

China’s stock indexes remained largely unchanged.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that Chinese authorities have decided to issue a record 3 trillion yuan ($411 billion) in special government bonds next year as part of stepped-up fiscal efforts to stimulate the struggling economy.

Moreover, China is allowing local officials to expand investments into key government bonds and is simplifying approval procedures by allowing projects, unless they are restricted on a list published by the government, to better leverage public funds for economic growth, a government document showed on Wednesday .

Markets had expected greater transparency on Beijing’s stimulus plans for the coming year. Recent reports suggest that the country will boost fiscal spending to support economic growth.

Elsewhere, equity markets saw marginal moves amid feeble performance.

In South Korea it remained largely unchanged, while in Thailand it was also muted.

Singapore fell 0.2%, while India’s index showed a feeble opening as the index recorded massive losses over the past few weeks.