The Asian markets closed mostly in red on Tuesday, as investors were cautiously ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s two-day monetary policy meeting that starts later in the day. Japanese retail sales in March declined at their fastest annual pace in 17 years as consumer spending struggled to pick up a year after a sales-tax increase, keeping alive speculation the Bank of Japan will expand stimulus again later this year. Japan’s retail sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of -9.7%, from -1.7% in the preceding month whose figure was revised up from -1.8%. The markets will be focused on the BOJ’s meeting as well as a slew of other data this week - including industrial production, inflation and employment - for clues on the economy’s performance in the final month of the first quarter. The central bank is expected to hold off on expanding stimulus at Thursday’s policy review, but remains under pressure to do more to get the economy motoring again after last year’s April sales tax hike clobbered consumption. Signs of continued weakness in private consumption - which accounts for some 60 percent of gross domestic product - is a headache for the BOJ as the economic recovery remains fragile following a recession last year. Hong Kong Trade Balance fell to a seasonally adjusted -46.2B, from -35.9B in the preceding month.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 4,476.21 | -51.18 | -1.13 |
Hang Seng | 28,442.75 | 9.16 | 0.03 |
Jakarta Composite | 5,242.16 | -3.29 | -0.06 |
KLSE Composite | 1,855.06 | -4.52 | -0.24 |
Nikkei 225 | 20,058.95 | 75.63 | 0.38 |
Straits Times | 3,495.09 | -20.76 | -0.59 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,147.67 | -9.87 | -0.46 |
Taiwan Weighted | 9,956.83 | -16.29 | -0.16 |