after the policy board meeting boj governor kuroda stressed the significance of the latest decision. >> translator: the changes this time will reinforce the mechanism for spreading the impact of our monetary easing measures. >> kuroda said he hopes those steps will encourage financial institutions to promote the flow of funds to businesses, as well as to households. >>> and on to markets, japanese equities rose further after the boj announcement decision to double the lending programs. prompted some traders to believe that the central bank may provide further monetary stimulus. the nikkei average climbed 3.13% to 14,843, its highest close in more than two weeks. the one-day percentage gain was the biggest this year. it was helped by a broad-based rally. still analysts say today's advance is just a rebound from the market weakness since the start of the year. they remain cautious about whether the nikkei can sustain the strong performance, it's down nearly 10% so far this year. many other airness bourses ended higher. india's sensex went up for a third straight session. investors welc

governor kuroda wants to continue the momentum of strength. >>> a different story in china. the pboc drains n $8 million from the money market with a surprise hint towards a move towards tightening. >>> a jump in first half profit for bhp and pleases investors with hints of potential dividend hikes and share buybacks. >>> germany in strong demand by ireland, italy and greece. >> announcer: you're watching "worldwide exchange," bringing you business news from around the globe. >> hello and welcome, everyone, to brand new edition of "worldwide exchange." ross westgate is feeling under the weather today. we hope he feels better soon. julia is still in rome. the pboc, nearly $8 billion was taken out through bond purchasing agreements. traders say the decision is a hawkish move, highlighting the pboc's desire to tighten monetary policy. meantime, the boj is signaling it's ready to help japan's economy for the long haul. one day after disappointing data, the bank of japan held its policy view and kept lending steady. using a driving metaphor, the boj governor kuroda said the moves

markets were somewhat hopeful that bank of japan governor kuroda may give an indication on further monetary stimulus following the disappointing gdp data. the boj winds up its policy meeting on tuesday. other asian markets also climbed. hong kong's hang seng closed at a three-week high on waning concerns over china's tight credit conditions. jakarta rose to a level not seen since the end of october. in thailand, the bench mark index jumped 1.56% to 1,332. its highest close in almost two months. despite the country's political unrest, the economy recorded bigger than expected growth in the fourth quarter. and asian equity rallies are supporting sentiment in europe. looking at london, the ftse is up about 1%. and in frankfurt, the dax is up about 0.1% trading at 9,600. and in paris, the cac 40 is almost unchanged at 4,339. moving on to currencies, the dollar/yen is currently changing hands at 101.93-94 due to lack of trading cues. analysts say many u.s. market players are away for a public holiday. the indonesian rupiah continues to rise, reaching a three-month high against the u.s. dollar. i

that coming from the bank of japan governor kuroda.hey change their outlook and would japan's gdp forecast be cut for 2014. an earlier guest who was on the show would be saying he would be staying long the dollar/yen at the moment. kiran was indicating that. we continue to see whether that trade is intact for the time being. sterling/dollar, a little weaker across the board. >>> let's recap asian markets. li sixuan joins us again. sixuan. >> thank you, louisa. on the back of the strong u.s. data and the weaker yen, look at the nikkei 225. it made a stunning rebound today, up almost 3% .gaining nearly 4% for the week. but china markets came under pressure as investors took profits from yesterday's big outperformer, sinopec and other oil majors. el where, south korea's kospi gained 1.4%. in australia, a solid earnings season continues to boost miners, banks and other high performers. the asx 200 gained 0.5% today. aia shares ended a bit weaker after reporting a 7% fall in its 2013 profits missing street expectations. the street reported

>> kuroda had his moment saying whatever it takes to defend the japanese economy and the currency, theydo it. they are going to go out and deal with that and have been doing a good job. take a look at the s&p 500. we are less than half a percentage point away from new highs. the number to watch is 1848, that's the old closing high. despite the disappointing sentiment numbers and boy, was that a disappointment as well as the empire state numbers as well. take a look at the home builders. they are reflecting that disappointing nehb number down throughout the day, most down throughout the year. hotels are down. choice hotels, think econolodge, comfort inn, they gave guidance a little below expectations. that's down 3%. it's weighing on that whole group and nat gas up 30% so far this year. all the utilities are among the better performers today. i always get asked this when i go away, what about the ung, the etf for natural gas. i want to point out it does not track natural gas. natural gas is up 31% this year. u.s. natural gas etf, the big one, you can buy that, is only up 26%. the reason

we wouldn't have made the sony investment if we didn't support abe and kuroda and everything that they're doing. b but, you know, politically, economically, and from a monetary standpoint. so does sony fit into that as a back drop and anything we do has to make sense from a macro perspective. sony has been and will continue to be a beneficiary of a weaker yen and possibly from some kind of a structural reform. >> i put the sony move in terms of a baby move. >> this is an admission of defeat. they were adamant about loeb's position not being the right one. even though they're not doing exactly what third point wanted, they're moving in that direction. >> it was a $50 stock -- 60 bucks six year ago. it's under 15 today. they've tried to weaken the yen. what is sony now? what are they? are they a commoditized maker? >> consumer electronics? >> no, no, i mentioned this on the show yesterday. the entertainment business is worth more than the whole stupid thing combined. right now, if you just spin off the entertainment value, you would get more for your company. >> they're laying off 5,000 emp