The Asian equity benchmarks ended mostly in red on Friday, with Japanese stocks rising for a second week as investor sentiment recovered amid expectations of slower interest-rate increases in the US. The Bank of Japan has put monetary policy on hold and found backing for its wait-and-see stance from advisors to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who worry more easing could send the yen to damagingly low levels. Concerns about the yen, along with a belief among central bank officials - including Governor Haruhiko Kuroda - that coming wage increases will support higher prices, suggest the BOJ could hold policy steady until October.
China’s factory growth likely inched up from a 1-1/2-year low in January, helped by a slight pick-up in momentum the previous month, but the bounce is not expected to last due to unsteady exports and slowing investment. China’s fiscal revenue rose 8.6% from a year earlier to 14 trillion yuan ($2.24 trillion) while China’s fiscal expenditure increased 8.2% last year to 15.2 trillion yuan. Thailand’s Industrial Production rose to a seasonally adjusted -0.4%, from -3.5% in the preceding month. Philippines GDP rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.9%, from 5.3% in the preceding month.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,210.36 | -51.94 | -1.59 |
Hang Seng | 24,507.05 | -88.80 | -0.36 |
Jakarta Composite | 5,289.40 | 26.69 | 0.51 |
KLSE Composite | 1,781.26 | -0.92 | -0.05 |
Nikkei 225 | 17,674.39 | 68.17 | 0.39 |
Straits Times | 3,391.20 | -27.85 | -0.81 |
KOSPI Composite | 1,949.26 | -1.76 | -0.09 |
Taiwan Weighted | 9,361.91 | -64.99 | -0.69 |