Investing.com – Most Asian bourses are in the green at this hour after getting support from a decent flash reading of China’s most recent PMI and speculation that the Bank of Japan could imminently engage in new monetary easing.
In Asian trading Thursday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.25% as rumors swirled that new Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda may make remarks later today about regarding quickly reaching Japan’s desired 2% rate of inflation.
Earlier today, Japan’s finance ministry said shipments slipped 2.9% in February, far worse than 1.7% decreased economists expected. Imports climbed nearly 12% creating an overall trade deficit of USD8.1 billion.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.10% while the Shanghai Composite inched higher by 0.07% after the initial purchasing managers index from HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics showed China’s PMI at 51.7 for March, well above economists’ estimate of 50.8. The final February reading was 50.4. Readings above 50 signal economic expansion.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.25% after Arts Minister Simon Crean publicly called for a leadership change in a television interview. Crean said Australia’s ruling party is in a stalemate. Those comments weighed on Aussie equities, which started the session on a modestly higher note.
New Zealand’s NZSE 50 fell 0.23% despite a strong-than-expected fourth-quarter GDP report. Earlier today, Statistics New Zealand said that New Zealand’s GDP jumped 1.5% in the fourth quarter, easily topping analysts’ expectations of growth of 1.2%. The country’s economic output rose 0.2% in the third quarter.
That is the biggest GDP growth increase for New Zealand in three years and the fourth-quarter report was nearly twice that of the 0.8% growth rate previously forecast by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.12% while Singapore’s Straits Times Index added 0.48%. S&P 500 futures are up 0.04% at this writing.