The Asian markets concluded Tuesday’s trade mostly in green, in the first full day’s trade after the Easter break, with Wall Street providing another strong lead. In Japan the earnings season gets under way next week with the release of reports from big names. Japan’s annual export growth slowed sharply in March due to weaker shipments to China, casting doubt that a recovery in external demand could help offset the impact of the April 1 sales tax hike. Ministry of Finance data showed that exports rose 1.8% in March from a year earlier, following a 9.8% annual gain in the previous month.
Foreign Direct Investment in Shanghai grew 14.2% from a year earlier to $1.65 billion in March, up from an 8.5% increase in February. The rise in the city’s FDI indicated foreign investors’ confidence in the local business conditions. The gain also contrasted with the 1.47% decline in FDI in China. Buying sentiment for new homes rebounded in Shanghai last week but sales were still below the weekly average as home-seekers and real estate developers were still cautious overall. The purchases of new homes, excluding government-funded affordable housing, jumped 25% from the previous week to 183,500 square meters.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 2072.83 | 7.01 | 0.34 |
Hang Seng | 22730.68 | -29.56 | -0.13 |
Jakarta Composite | 4898.21 | 5.92 | 0.12 |
KLSE Composite | 1866.42 | 3.49 | 0.19 |
Nikkei 225 | 14388.77 | -123.61 | -0.85 |
Straits Times | 3277.53 | 21.70 | 0.67 |
KOSPI Composite | 2004.22 | 5.00 | 0.25 |
Taiwan Weighted | 8974.71 | 23.52 | 0.26 |