The Asian markets concluded Tuesday’s trade on a mixed note, with Nikkei average advancing to a four-week closing high after a rally in Wall Street shares. Indonesia’s rupiah advanced to the strongest level since November as a rally in Asian stocks fueled optimism that capital inflows into the region are increasing. Foreign holdings of local-currency government debt climbed 12.3 trillion rupiah ($1.1 billion) this month through February 20, set for the biggest increase since October. Hong Kong Trade Balance rose to a seasonally adjusted -20.0B, from -54.4B in the preceding month. Japan’s Corporate Services Price Index fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 0.8%, from 1.1% in the preceding month whose figure was revised down from 1.3%.
China’s commerce ministry stated that the country is cautiously optimistic about expanding its trade this year after both exports and imports performed well in January. In US dollar terms, China’s trade jumped 10.3% from a year earlier in January, with exports rising 10.6% and imports up 10%. The per capita disposable income in China grew 10.9% from a year earlier to 18,311 yuan ($2,993) in 2013. Excluding price factors, the income rose 8.1% year on year.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 2034.22 | -42.47 | -2.04 |
Hang Seng | 22317.20 | -71.36 | -0.32 |
Jakarta Composite | 4577.29 | -46.28 | -1.00 |
KLSE Composite | 1833.75 | 5.07 | 0.28 |
Nikkei 225 | 15051.60 | 213.92 | 1.44 |
Straits Times | 3103.62 | 2.22 | -0.07 |
KOSPI Composite | 1964.86 | 15.81 | 0.81 |
Taiwan Weighted | 8575.62 | 15.01 | 0.18 |