The Asian markets closed mostly higher on Tuesday while investors treading cautiously following the weak cues overnight from Wall Street. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang stated that China was on track to reach its economic growth target of about 7 percent this year, and the economy was going through adjustments to maintain reasonable medium- to long-term growth. Li added that China was studying the possibility of establishing of a multilateral financial institution with Central and Eastern European countries, as well as a joint fund denominated in Chinese yuan. Japan’s government is expected to finalize plans to raise the minimum wage, and encourage companies to increase annual pay as part of a package of policies aimed at strengthening consumer spending and stoking economic growth. The government is also likely to offer cash handouts to some pensioners in an attempt to lessen the burden of rising food costs and do more to support the household sector. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his cabinet are expected to decide the details on wages at a meeting scheduled later today as the government tries to breathe new life into an economy that has struggled with patchy domestic demand. Japan’s trade balance rose to a seasonally adjusted -0.20T compared to -0.31T in the preceding month.
Asian Indices Last Trade Change in Points Change in % Shanghai Composite 3,616.11 5.80 0.16 Hang Seng 22,587.63 -78.27 -0.35 Jakarta Composite 4,545.38 4.31 0.09 KLSE Composite 1,677.03 6.13 0.37 Nikkei 225 19,924.89 45.08 0.23 Straits Times 2,923.49 20.00 0.69 KOSPI Composite 2,016.29 12.59 0.63 Taiwan Weighted 8,400.14 -85.59 -1.01