Investing.com – Asian stocks are mixed at this hour, though most of the region’s major bourses are trading higher as traders embrace news of a weaker yen while digesting last week’s solid U.S. jobs report.
In Asian trading Monday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.92% as USD/JPY continued to move higher on speculation the Bank of Japan could enact new quantitative easing measures in the coming weeks.
The yen lost ground against the dollar after the Economic and Social Research Institute said that Japan’s Core Machinery Orders slid to -13.1% in February from 2.8% in January. Analysts expected a February decline to -2%.
In a separate report, the Bank of Japan said Japan’s M2 money supply unexpectedly increased in February to a seasonally adjusted 2.9% from 2.7% in January. Analysts expected the February reading to be flat with January’s.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.45%, but the Shanghai Composite dropped 0.34% after official data showed that consumer prices in China rose 3.2% in February from a year earlier, above expectations for a 3% increase and accelerating sharply from a 2% rate of increase in January.
Separate reports showed that industrial production rose 9.9% in February, less than the expected 10.5% increase and following a 10.3% rise the previous month.
Despite the tepid Chinese data points, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.4%. China is the top destination for Australian exports. New Zealand’s NZSE 50 added 0.12%. China is also New Zealand’s top trading partner.
South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.08% after North Korea said South Korean Defense Minister Kim Byung Kwan would be the first target in a possible for national reunification. Kim has been over in his criticism of the north, recently saying South Korea could topple the regime there.
Singapore’s Straits Times Index inched higher by 0.04% while S&P 500 futures rose 0.03%.
In Asian trading Monday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.92% as USD/JPY continued to move higher on speculation the Bank of Japan could enact new quantitative easing measures in the coming weeks.
The yen lost ground against the dollar after the Economic and Social Research Institute said that Japan’s Core Machinery Orders slid to -13.1% in February from 2.8% in January. Analysts expected a February decline to -2%.
In a separate report, the Bank of Japan said Japan’s M2 money supply unexpectedly increased in February to a seasonally adjusted 2.9% from 2.7% in January. Analysts expected the February reading to be flat with January’s.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.45%, but the Shanghai Composite dropped 0.34% after official data showed that consumer prices in China rose 3.2% in February from a year earlier, above expectations for a 3% increase and accelerating sharply from a 2% rate of increase in January.
Separate reports showed that industrial production rose 9.9% in February, less than the expected 10.5% increase and following a 10.3% rise the previous month.
Despite the tepid Chinese data points, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.4%. China is the top destination for Australian exports. New Zealand’s NZSE 50 added 0.12%. China is also New Zealand’s top trading partner.
South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.08% after North Korea said South Korean Defense Minister Kim Byung Kwan would be the first target in a possible for national reunification. Kim has been over in his criticism of the north, recently saying South Korea could topple the regime there.
Singapore’s Straits Times Index inched higher by 0.04% while S&P 500 futures rose 0.03%.