The Asian markets concluded Tuesday’s trade in green, with the regional benchmark index poised to halt a two-day loss but gains remained limited as investors continued to monitor developments in Iraq. China’s stocks rose, sending the benchmark index to its biggest gain in a week, as renewed economic optimism overshadowed concern that new equity sales will divert funds from existing shares. Hong Kong stocks gained, with the city’s benchmark index rebounding after falling the most in three months yesterday, as technology shares rose. In Tokyo, the Nikkei ended higher as investors looked ahead to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s press conference scheduled later in the day, where he is expected to unveil the reform plans of his ‘third arrow’ strategy.
Indonesia’s Governor Agus Martowardojo stated that Bank Indonesia will keep tightening its monetary stance to the end of the year to cap the current-account deficit. His comments indicated the central bank’s priority to bring the current-account deficit to a sustainable level by maintaining high interest rates even at the expense of hurting economic growth. The Conference Board Leading Economic Index (LEI) for China increased 0.7% in May. The index stands at 290.2, following 1% increases in both April and March. Four of the six components contributed positively to the index in May while the Conference Board Coincident Economic Index (CEI) for China, which measures current economic activity, increased 0.7% in May to 259.7, following a 0.7% increase in April and a 1.5% increase in March. All five components contributed positively to the index in May.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 2033.93 | 9.57 | 0.47 |
Hang Seng | 22880.64 | 75.83 | 0.33 |
Jakarta Composite | 4862.24 | 20.11 | 0.42 |
KLSE Composite | 1892.33 | 8.37 | 0.44 |
Nikkei 225 | 15376.24 | 6.96 | 0.05 |
Straits Times | 3262.03 | 4.63 | 0.14 |
KOSPI Composite | 1994.35 | 19.43 | 0.98 |
Taiwan Weighted | 9246.20 | 17.85 | 0.19 |