Asian markets conclude the trade mostly in red

The Asian markets barring Hang Seng and KOSPI Composite concluded Thursday’s trade in red, while major exchanges like Indonesia's Jakarta Composite, Malaysia’s KLSE Composite and Singapore’s Straits Times remained close on account of Public Holiday ‘Eid al-Fitr’. Stocks in Hong Kong rebounded from the previous day’s sharp losses, aided by strong monthly trade data from China and some upbeat earnings reports. Japanese shares tumbled in volatile trade amidst a strengthening yen. South Korean shares ended higher, snapping a three-day losing streak, as China posted stronger-than-expected trade data, but the gains were limited as foreigners sold the local shares most in more than four weeks.

China reported much better than expected trade results for July, marking a sharp recovery from the previous month. Chinese trade data showed exports rising 5.1% from a year earlier, swinging from June’s 3.1% fall. Imports, which had dropped 0.7% in June, showed a 10.9% leap for July. The trade data come after mixed messages on China’s economy last week when private and official surveys of the country’s important manufacturing sector showed differing results. Besides, China’s yuan strengthened to a 19-year record against the US dollar amid Chinese officials’ pledge to stabilize economic growth. China is set to release consumer and producer price data for July on Friday, which may provide further hints on the health of the world’s second-largest economy after stronger-than-expected trade data.

The Bank of Japan kept its policy unchanged following its meeting, while maintaining language from the previous month that the economy is starting to recover moderately. In terms of the inflation outlook, the central bank noted that consumer prices have begun to head higher and stated that inflation expectations appear to be rising on the whole. The Bank of Japan has set a 2% inflation target, which it hopes to achieve by 2015. Separately, the Bank of Korea held its policy interest rate unchanged at 2.5%, matching expectations.