Asian markets closed mostly in green on Monday, while China Stock exchange was closed on account of 'Dragon Boat Festival' holiday. The Bank of Japan expects factory output to fall for the first time in three quarters in April-June on weak Asian demand, underscoring the fragile nature of the economic recovery. Industrial production rose 1.5 percent in January-March from the previous quarter, helping the world’s third largest economy expand much faster than expected. Japan’s government will release a fiscal blueprint that will recommend taking a flexible approach to limiting state spending rather than setting a rigid cap on the annual increase to reduce the government’s mountain of debt. Japan has emerged from last year’s recession as companies start to increase capital expenditure and consumer spending recovers from the pain of last year’s sales tax hike. Japan’s index of leading economic indicators rose to a seasonally adjusted 106.4. Indonesian companies are shedding jobs as they grapple with the weakest economic growth in six years, adding to the troubles facing President Joko Widodo, who was elected last year on pledges to dig the country out of a rut. Government data might suggest no cause for alarm - unemployment was 5.81 percent in February, up only slightly from 5.70 percent a year earlier - but the official numbers are notoriously unreliable and don’t adequately cover the informal sector, which is two-thirds of Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | - | - | - |
Hang Seng | 27,080.85 | 320.32 | 1.20 |
Jakarta Composite | 4,959.25 | -25.75 | -0.52 |
KLSE Composite | 1,732.76 | 10.99 | 0.64 |
Nikkei 225 | 20,428.19 | 253.95 | 1.26 |
Straits Times | 3,315.13 | 14.17 | 0.43 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,055.16 | 8.20 | 0.40 |
Taiwan Weighted | 9,341.77 | 123.40 | 1.34 |