The Asian markets concluded Wednesday’s trade mostly in green with a gauge of regional shares heading for the highest close in five months. South Korea’s won surged to the strongest level since 2008 versus the dollar. The IMF predicted global growth of 3.6% this year, compared with a January estimate of 3.7%. Japan, however, is forecast to expand just 1.4% next year, down from the IMF’s previous projection of 1.7%, and just 1% in 2015. Higher sales taxes are expected to weigh on growth. Growth in China, the world’s second-largest economy, is expected to continue its slowdown from its double-digit pace of a few years ago. That will have repercussions for many nations that export raw materials and parts to Chinese factories. China is projected to expand 7.5% in 2014 and 7.3% in 2015, down from 7.7% last year. South Korean Unemployment Rate fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.5%, from 3.9% in the preceding month.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 2105.24 | 6.95 | 0.33 |
Hang Seng | 22843.17 | 246.20 | 1.09 |
Jakarta Composite | 4921.40 | 0.37 | 0.01 |
KLSE Composite | 1855.75 | 3.44 | 0.19 |
Nikkei 225 | 14299.69 | -307.19 | -2.10 |
Straits Times | 3209.92 | 5.83 | 0.18 |
KOSPI Composite | 1998.95 | 5.92 | 0.30 |
Taiwan Weighted | 8930.57 | 42.32 | 0.48 |