Asian Stocks On 3rd Day Streak

Asian stocks were higher in overnight trading, marking three days in a row. Chinese data and continued expectations for global central bank stimulus boosted investor confidence. In the world’s second largest economy, imports in China increased 14.1% in March from 2012, surpassing the expected increase of 6% considerably, after February showed a drop of 15.2%. Tempering the good news was the export figure. Official data released showed that exports increased 10% from the previous year in March, lower than the expected increase of 11.7% gain and far lower than the 21.8% increase recorded in February. This now leaves China with an $884 million trade deficit after February registered a $15.3 billion surplus.

Elsewhere, general rumblings resounded on a global scale about nearly all central banks, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, making changing to their monetary policies and introducing various forms of stimulus. Japan, having made what the markets deemed as aggressive monetary policy changes, has seen the yen weaken against the US dollar. This has made exports cheaper and boosted the export market, helping stocks rise and the Nikkei 225 reach levels unseen since 2008.

Stocks

Asian stocks:
Japan’s stocks enjoyed another strong trading session , rising 0.63%. Strong Chinese data helped Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rise 0.2%, whilst Australia’s ASX/200 Index closed 0.15% lower, as financial losses by some of Australia’s biggest banks cancelled out gains made in mining stocks.

Forex
In stable currency markets, the NZD/USD hit a 17 month high as Chinese data boosted the kiwi. The EUR/USD hit a 3 week high and was up 0.09% at the time of writing. The JPY continued its slide in Asian trading against the USD, which was up 0.15% against the yen. Speculation is high that it will break the 100 barrier soon, as soon as today and possibly in European markets.

Commodities
Some modest profit taking in Asian trading kept Gold prices down 0.02%, as Silver benefited from a weakened U.S. Dollar and gained 0.23%. The weather inspired rally in Natural Gas ended with warmer weather forecasts for the U.S. Natural gas was down 0.04%, whilst Crude Oil was down 0.24% as global demand forecasts released yesterday indicated reduced demand,

Today’s Outlook
Today is all about the FOMC meeting minutes, and the U.S. Fed budget balance. Expect a strong reaction and a potentially volatile day of trading for the USD and U.S. Stock markets.