The Asian indices ended mostly in green on Monday, as Japan posted growth in the fourth quarter albeit at a slower pace than expected, but managed to exit recession. Japan’s economy rebounded from recession in the final quarter of last year but growth was weaker than expected as household and corporate spending disappointed, underlining the challenges premier Shinzo Abe faces in shaking off decades of stagnation. The annualized 2.2% expansion in October-December was smaller than a 3.7% increase forecast, suggesting a fragile recovery, as the hangover from last year’s sales tax hike lingered. Japan’s GDP rose to a seasonally adjusted 0.6%, from -0.6% in the preceding quarter whose figure was revised down from -0.5%. The preliminary reading for gross domestic product (GDP), which translates into a quarter-on-quarter increase of 0.6%, follows two straight quarters of contraction.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in China grew at its strongest pace in nearly four years in January, surging 29.4% from a year earlier to $13.9 billion as investors largely shunned the troubled manufacturing sector and focused on the more resilient services industry. Indonesia posted a higher-than-expected trade surplus in January as global oil prices slumped. Southeast Asia’s biggest economy saw exports slide 8.09% on-year to $13.30 billion and imports sank 15.59 percent to $12.59 billion.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,222.36 | 18.54 | 0.58 |
Hang Seng | 24,726.53 | 43.99 | 0.18 |
Jakarta Composite | 5,325.50 | -48.67 | -0.91 |
KLSE Composite | 1,808.89 | 7.94 | 0.44 |
Nikkei 225 | 18,004.77 | 91.41 | 0.51 |
Straits Times | 3,427.16 | 0.94 | 0.03 |
KOSPI Composite | 1,958.23 | 0.73 | 0.04 |
Taiwan Weighted | 9,529.51 | 33.20 | 0.35 |