Sentiments continued to remain bearish for yet another day in the Asian region with most of the indices snapping the day’s trade in the negative terrain on Tuesday, rattled by a political impasse in Greece that could lead the debt-stricken country to a destabilizing exit from the euro currency union. However, the fears of a Greek exit of the euro zone were offset by data late in the trading session showing Germany’s economy expanded more than expected. German gross domestic product grew by a surprise 0.5 percent in the first quarter in seasonally adjusted terms - well ahead of a consensus forecast, as exports helped the economy bounce back from contraction of 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, Japanese Nikkei closed down 0.81 percent, although it pulled back from the lowest intraday level since the beginning of February in the afternoon session, with traders suspecting the Bank of Japan of purchasing exchange-traded funds to support the market, while Kospi Composite shares extended falls to a four-month intraday low on Tuesday, dropping below a key chart level as investors fled riskier assets on heightened concerns that Greece could be expelled from the euro zone. However, Hong Kong shares eked out gains today on strength in large caps such as Tencent Holdings and oil refiners that helped the benchmark index halt an eight-day losing streak which took it deep into oversold territory.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 2,374.84 | -5.88 | -0.25 |
Hang Seng | 19,894.31 | 159.27 | 0.81 |
Jakarta Composite | 4,045.64 | -7.42 | -0.18 |
KLSE Composite | 1,561.07 | -14.01 | -0.89 |
Nikkei 225 | 8,900.74 | -73.10 | -0.81 |
Straits Times | 2,876.70 | 12.58 | 0.44 |
KOSPI Composite | 1,898.96 | -14.77 | -0.77 |
Taiwan Weighted | 7,395.64 | 18.46 | 0.25 |