Stock market today: World shares are mixed after Bank of Japan fine-tunes bond purchase policy

BANGKOK — Shares in Europe and Asia were mixed on Friday after the Bank of Japan adjusted its bond purchase policy but kept its negative benchmark interest rate unchanged.

Paris, Frankfurt, Tokyo and Sydney fell while Hong Kong, London and Shanghai advanced. U.S. futures rose and oil prices fell.

Japan’s central bank opted to keep its benchmark interest rate at minus 0.1% at a policy meeting that ended Friday. But it adjusted its bond purchases to allow greater flexibility in yields, saying uncertainties for the economy and prices required a nimbler approach.

The yield on the 10-year Japanese government bond rose after the BOJ said it would offer to buy those at a 1% yield each business day, instead of the upper limit of 0.5% that was imposed under its “yield curve control program.”

The aim is still to keep long-term interest rates near zero percent, the central bank said.

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