Most of the Asian markets made a positive closing on Wednesday; with Japanese shares rallying on weaker yen after another record close on Wall Street overnight bolstered investor sentiment. Further, Chinese stocks snapped a three-day streak of losses, helped by a rally in resources shares. News that China's local government pension fund is moving one step closer to investing in the stock market provided some relief, rising hopes that typically longer investment strategy of the fund will foster stability and raise liquidity. Though, gains remained muted ahead of Thursday's highly-anticipated ECB meeting, which may set the tone for financial markets after Sunday's votes in Austria and Italy. The ECB is expected to extend its asset purchase program by six months to prop up growth and inflation. Oil prices eased further in Asian deals after losing 1.7 percent overnight on data showing record high production in the producer group and the API data showing solid builds in gasoline and distillate inventories.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,222.24 | 22.6 | 0.71 |
Hang Seng | 22,800.92 | 125.77 | 0.55 |
Jakarta Composite | 5,265.37 | -7.6 | -0.14 |
KLSE Composite | 1,632.47 | 2.74 | 0.17 |
Nikkei 225 | 18,496.69 | 136.15 | 0.74 |
Straits Times | 2,959.84 | 10.72 | 0.36 |
KOSPI Composite | 1,991.89 | 2.03 | 0.10 |
Taiwan Weighted | 9,263.89 | 13.12 | 0.14 |