The Asian markets concluded Tuesday’s trade mostly in green, with the regional benchmark index on course for its highest close in six years, as investors shrugged off geopolitical tensions in Ukraine and in the Middle East. Hong Kong’s indices rose amid speculation that government will do more to shore up economic growth. The main economic data point due this week will be preliminary manufacturing data for China on Thursday. Recent data from China, including factory numbers as well as second-quarter growth figures, have helped support the view that Asia’s largest economy has troughed after a slowdown earlier this year. A majority of Bank of Japan board members disagree with Governor Haruhiko Kuroda’s view that flooding the economy with cash is sufficient to get stable 2% gains in consumer prices. Most conclude it cannot be done without government steps to raise Japan’s growth potential. Japan’s All Industries Activity Index rose to a seasonally adjusted 0.6%, from -4.6% in the preceding month whose figure was revised down from -4.3%.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 2075.48 | 21.00 | 1.02 |
Hang Seng | 23782.11 | 394.97 | 1.69 |
Jakarta Composite | 5083.52 | -43.60 | -0.85 |
KLSE Composite | 1871.36 | 2.72 | 0.15 |
Nikkei 225 | 15343.28 | 127.57 | 0.84 |
Straits Times | 3316.91 | 2.64 | 0.08 |
KOSPI Composite | 2028.93 | 10.43 | 0.52 |
Taiwan Weighted | 9499.36 | 58.39 | 0.62 |