Economic Data In Focus, Asia Closed Up But Europe Trading Lower

Asian markets closed higher today by building up further gains on top of yesterday’s gain. The disappointing economic data- Chinese GDP released yesterday did not make much impact during the Asian trading session. Having said that, there are still concerns among investors that China may not be able to keep its GDP target in the third quarter in the absence of any stronger commitment from the government as other parts of the economy are still slowing down. The overall impact of this could make the second biggest economy of the world to miss their growth target of 7.5% for 2013.

Traders returned back to the market in Japan after a long weekend and maintained their appetite for the riskier assets by pushing the Nikkei index further up. Stocks surged in Japan despite the reluctance of Central Bank to add any further stimulus package. Much of these gains were on the expense of the Yen.

The Nikkei Index was the best performing index during the session which closed with a gain of 0.96%. The index is up nearly 2.02% for the past five days is week. The Shanghai index was the second best performer and closed with a gain of 0.32%. The Hang Seng index also managed to close with a mild gain of 0.04%.

Exporters soared during the session as the yen weakened against the dollar. Shares of famous camera maker Cannon Inc increased nearly by 2.7%. The automakers also surged and shares of Nissan Motor Co also gained nearly 1.3%.

European stock markets were trading higher but now turned negative during the early hours of trading. Investors will be closely watching the CPI Y/Y data which is due at 08:30 GMT and the forecast is for 3.0% while the previous reading was 2.7%. A weaker number could push the GBP further lower against the basket of currencies.

German Zew Economic sentiment is also due later on which will be the major focus for traders because Germany is the biggest economy of the euro zone or the engine of the euro zone. The forecast number is 39.8 while the previous reading was 38.5. The final reading could be soft as most of the companies are focused to export products to China and a weaker GDP number in China could make the impact on this final number.

The IBEX Index is the worst performing index during the session which is trading down with a loss of 0.96%. The index is down nearly -2.94% for the past five days. The CAC 40 index is the second worst performer and is also trading down with a loss of 0.45%. The FTSE 100 and the FTSE MIB are trading lower too with a loss of -0.05%, and gain of -0.32% respectively.

DISCLOSURE & DISCLAIMER: The above is for informational purposes only and NOT to be construed as specific trading advice. responsibility for trade decisions is solely with the reader.

by Naeem Aslam