Investing.com - Shares in Asia were higher on Wednesday, taking a cue from the U.S. overnight though the most recent tweet by President Donald Trump signaled that he would sign an executive order on Wednesday to build a wall on the border with Mexico weighed.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 rose 1.27% with shares of Takata soaring 18.22% to hit its daily price limit of 80 yen (0.70 U.S. cents) per share. The Japanese airbag maker stock had fallen 40% since a week ago, over concerns of court involvement in its Japanese business plans.
Earlier, data showed Japan's annual exports grew 5.4% in December, the first time in 15 months, led by shipments of car parts and electronics, and well above a forecast of a 1.2% increase.
USD/MXN moved after Trump tweeted that he will take executive action to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump has repeatedly claimed Mexico would be forced to pay for the construction.
Prior to the tweet, the U.S. dollar was fetching around 21.4850 pesos and after it was sent, it was garnering as many as 21.56 pesos.That's still below the record high levels over 22 pesos touched earlier this month.
The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.43% after Australia said inflation rose less than expected in the last quarter of 2016, up 0.5% in the fourth-quarter and 1.5% from the previous year. The Reserve Bank of Australia targets an annual inflation rate in the range between 2% to 3%.
China stocks rose, led by the non-ferrous metals sectors with the Shanghai Composite Index up 0.01% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rising 0.34%.
Overnight, U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Tuesday, as gains in the Basic Materials, Industrials and Technology sectors led shares higher as Trump's executive orders to make it easier for TransCanada to build the Keystone XL pipeline and for Energy Transfer Partners to build the final potion of the Dakota Access pipeline lifted sentiment that his push to clear regulatory bottlenecks was well underway.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.57%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.66%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 0.86%.
Still despite the gains concerns over Trump’s protectionist policies continued to dominate market sentiment weighed on the currency along with remarks from his nominee for Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin' that an "excessively strong" dollar can have negative short-term impacts on the U.S. economy.
On the economic front, Markit’s preliminary manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for January beat expectations as new orders expanded at their quickest pace since September 2014. December existing home sales missed expectations, but still closed out 2016 with their best year in a decade.
In a separate report, the National Association of Realtors said existing home sales fell 2.8% to an annual rate of 5.49 million units, compared to forecasts of a 1.1% decline to 5.52 million.
Sterling retreated as a British Supreme Court ruling that the government will need parliamentary approval before triggering the process the exit the European Union looked unlikely to hamper Prime Minister Theresa May’s plans.