Investing.com - Most Asian stocks traded higher Tuesday, paced by surging Japanese shares, on news the European Central Bank is not done paring interest rates.
In Asian trading Tuesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged 2.70% to climb above 14,000 for the first time in more than five years. Japanese stocks rose even as USD/JPY traded lower.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng inched up 0.07% while the Shanghai Composite added 0.13% on light volume. On Wednesday, China will deliver April export data. Economists are expecting a 9.1% increase, the slowest pace in five months.
Traders appear to be heartened by news that the ECB may lower rates further. Following its policy meeting last week, the central bank lowered interest rates to 0.50% from 0.75% with ECB President Mario Draghi somewhat leaving the door open to the possibility of negative interest rates.
On Monday, Portugal announced plans to sell 10-year bonds, the country’s first effort at tapping credit markets since 2011. Yields on 10-year Portugal government bond are 5.508%, well below the peak of 17% seen early last year.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.50% as traders wait on news of a possible rate cut from the Reserve Bank of Australia. Should RBA lower rates to 2.75% from the current level of 3%, that would represent the lowest interest rate carried by the world’s 12th-largest economy since 2.89% seen in early 1960.
New Zealand’s NZSE 50 rose 0.41% after Statistics New Zealand said labor costs there rose 0.4% in the first quarter from the fourth quarter and 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Economists expected the first-quarter reading to be flat with the fourth-quarter reading of 0.5%.
The quarterly employment survey showed private sector average hourly wages jumped 1% in the first quarter and were higher by 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Public sector earnings rose 1.6% and 1.4% year-over-year.
South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.29% while Singapore’s Straits Times Index climbed 0.39%. S&P 500 futures fell 0.11% a day after the benchmark U.S. index hit another record high.
In Asian trading Tuesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged 2.70% to climb above 14,000 for the first time in more than five years. Japanese stocks rose even as USD/JPY traded lower.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng inched up 0.07% while the Shanghai Composite added 0.13% on light volume. On Wednesday, China will deliver April export data. Economists are expecting a 9.1% increase, the slowest pace in five months.
Traders appear to be heartened by news that the ECB may lower rates further. Following its policy meeting last week, the central bank lowered interest rates to 0.50% from 0.75% with ECB President Mario Draghi somewhat leaving the door open to the possibility of negative interest rates.
On Monday, Portugal announced plans to sell 10-year bonds, the country’s first effort at tapping credit markets since 2011. Yields on 10-year Portugal government bond are 5.508%, well below the peak of 17% seen early last year.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.50% as traders wait on news of a possible rate cut from the Reserve Bank of Australia. Should RBA lower rates to 2.75% from the current level of 3%, that would represent the lowest interest rate carried by the world’s 12th-largest economy since 2.89% seen in early 1960.
New Zealand’s NZSE 50 rose 0.41% after Statistics New Zealand said labor costs there rose 0.4% in the first quarter from the fourth quarter and 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Economists expected the first-quarter reading to be flat with the fourth-quarter reading of 0.5%.
The quarterly employment survey showed private sector average hourly wages jumped 1% in the first quarter and were higher by 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Public sector earnings rose 1.6% and 1.4% year-over-year.
South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.29% while Singapore’s Straits Times Index climbed 0.39%. S&P 500 futures fell 0.11% a day after the benchmark U.S. index hit another record high.