Investing.com - Buoyed by a weaker yen and more positive economic data out of South Korea, Asian equities surged Wednesday.
In Asian trading Wednesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 advanced 1.85 after USD/JPY continued flirting with 91 on the back of Japanese retail sales news.
Earlier Wednesday, Japan’s Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry said December retail sales there fell to a seasonally adjusted rate of 0.4% following an increase of 1.3% in November. Analysts had expected retail sales to fall at annual rate 0.3% in December.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is up 0.7% at this writing, but earlier traded higher by as much as 1%. The Shanghai Composite rose 0.09%. That index has surged more than 20 percent in just the past seven weeks.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.1%, a small gain, but enough to extend its winning streak to 10 days. That is the longest winning run for the index since late 2003. Mining firms such as BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP), the world’s largest mining company, helped lead Aussie stocks higher.
On a related note, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard is scheduled to give remarks today where she says the strong Aussie dollar is beyond the control of the government. Gillard is also expected to pressure the Reserve Bank of Australia to pare interest rates again.
South Korea’s Kospi added 0.5% after a report showed the country’s industrial output surprisingly rose. To this point, the Kospi is one of just two Asian bourses to trade lower this month. Weighed by election year jitters, Malaysian stocks are the other Asian offenders.
Elsewhere, New Zealand’s NZSE 50 surged 1.13% after a report showed building approvals soared to a 4 1/2 year high in December. The number was up 9.4% to 1,556.
Singapore’s Straits Times Index climbed 0.55%. S&P 500 futures are off 0.09%.
In Asian trading Wednesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 advanced 1.85 after USD/JPY continued flirting with 91 on the back of Japanese retail sales news.
Earlier Wednesday, Japan’s Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry said December retail sales there fell to a seasonally adjusted rate of 0.4% following an increase of 1.3% in November. Analysts had expected retail sales to fall at annual rate 0.3% in December.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is up 0.7% at this writing, but earlier traded higher by as much as 1%. The Shanghai Composite rose 0.09%. That index has surged more than 20 percent in just the past seven weeks.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.1%, a small gain, but enough to extend its winning streak to 10 days. That is the longest winning run for the index since late 2003. Mining firms such as BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP), the world’s largest mining company, helped lead Aussie stocks higher.
On a related note, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard is scheduled to give remarks today where she says the strong Aussie dollar is beyond the control of the government. Gillard is also expected to pressure the Reserve Bank of Australia to pare interest rates again.
South Korea’s Kospi added 0.5% after a report showed the country’s industrial output surprisingly rose. To this point, the Kospi is one of just two Asian bourses to trade lower this month. Weighed by election year jitters, Malaysian stocks are the other Asian offenders.
Elsewhere, New Zealand’s NZSE 50 surged 1.13% after a report showed building approvals soared to a 4 1/2 year high in December. The number was up 9.4% to 1,556.
Singapore’s Straits Times Index climbed 0.55%. S&P 500 futures are off 0.09%.