Investing.com - Asian stocks were mixed in choppy trade Wednesday as traders looked to dial back risk ahead of the conclusion of the Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting later Wednesday.
In Asian trading Wednesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.75% after Japan’s Finance Ministry said exports surged 10.1% last month, well above the 6.4% increase economists expected. Shipments to major trading partners such as the U.S., China and the European Union rose 16%, 8.3% and 4.9%, respectively.
Imports rose 10%, contributing to an eleventh consecutive monthly trade deficit. Not surprisingly, exporters were among the top gainers on the Nikkei and the Topix.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slid 0.86% while the Shanghai Composite dropped 1.07% on further speculation the government in China will enact more property curbs to prevent a real estate bubble. On Tuesday, data showed Chinese home prices rose in 69 of the country’s 70 major metro areas.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.6% while New Zealand’s NZSE 50 fell 0.35% after Statistics New Zealand said that New Zealand’s current account balance fell to a seasonally adjusted to NZD660 million in the first quarter from NZD3.26 billion in the fourth quarter. Analysts expected a decline to NZD600 million.
Action was lethargic as traders could be betting some tapering to the Fed’s USD85 billion per month bond-buying program could arrive as soon as late in third quarter. On the other hand, an end to U.S. monetary easing could roil global financial markets when they are already fragile and send investors into the yen, and out of the dollar, as a safe-haven play.
South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.8% while Singapore’s Straits Times Index gave up 0.4%. S&P 500 futures fell 0.12% a day after the benchmark U.S. index added 0.78%.
In Asian trading Wednesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.75% after Japan’s Finance Ministry said exports surged 10.1% last month, well above the 6.4% increase economists expected. Shipments to major trading partners such as the U.S., China and the European Union rose 16%, 8.3% and 4.9%, respectively.
Imports rose 10%, contributing to an eleventh consecutive monthly trade deficit. Not surprisingly, exporters were among the top gainers on the Nikkei and the Topix.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slid 0.86% while the Shanghai Composite dropped 1.07% on further speculation the government in China will enact more property curbs to prevent a real estate bubble. On Tuesday, data showed Chinese home prices rose in 69 of the country’s 70 major metro areas.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.6% while New Zealand’s NZSE 50 fell 0.35% after Statistics New Zealand said that New Zealand’s current account balance fell to a seasonally adjusted to NZD660 million in the first quarter from NZD3.26 billion in the fourth quarter. Analysts expected a decline to NZD600 million.
Action was lethargic as traders could be betting some tapering to the Fed’s USD85 billion per month bond-buying program could arrive as soon as late in third quarter. On the other hand, an end to U.S. monetary easing could roil global financial markets when they are already fragile and send investors into the yen, and out of the dollar, as a safe-haven play.
South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.8% while Singapore’s Straits Times Index gave up 0.4%. S&P 500 futures fell 0.12% a day after the benchmark U.S. index added 0.78%.