HONG
KONG: Asian markets mostly rose yesterday, boosted by positive
inflation data from China, but Tokyo’s winning streak ended on
profit-taking as the yen edged up slightly after hitting multi-year
lows.
Wall Street also provided a strong lead ahead of the January- March corporate earnings season.
Tokyo ended flat, edging down 0.24 points to 13,192.35 following an almost 10 per cent rally since Wednesday fuelled by the Bank of Japan’s stimulus measures.
But Sydney added 1.45 per cent, or 71.3 points, to 4,976.8, while Seoul was 0.11 per cent higher, adding 2.05 points to 1,920.74.
Shanghai was 0.51 per cent higher in the afternoon, while Hong Kong added 0.97 per cent. Beijing unveiled data Tuesday showing inflation at 2.1 per cent in March, well down from the 10-month-high 3.2 per cent seen the month before and below forecasts for 2.4 per cent.
The news eased investor concerns that another high figure would prompt authorities to tighten monetary policy further.
“Markets were overly worried when headline CPI inflation jumped to 3.2 per cent in February, so yesterday’s reading will definitely help alleviate the inflation and monetary-tightening concerns,” Bank of America Merrill Lynch economist Lu Ting said in a note, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
Chinese shares have suffered in recent months on concerns about the world’s number two economy, while the recent spike in inflation fuelled expectations the government would tighten monetary policy. —AFP
Wall Street also provided a strong lead ahead of the January- March corporate earnings season.
Tokyo ended flat, edging down 0.24 points to 13,192.35 following an almost 10 per cent rally since Wednesday fuelled by the Bank of Japan’s stimulus measures.
But Sydney added 1.45 per cent, or 71.3 points, to 4,976.8, while Seoul was 0.11 per cent higher, adding 2.05 points to 1,920.74.
Shanghai was 0.51 per cent higher in the afternoon, while Hong Kong added 0.97 per cent. Beijing unveiled data Tuesday showing inflation at 2.1 per cent in March, well down from the 10-month-high 3.2 per cent seen the month before and below forecasts for 2.4 per cent.
The news eased investor concerns that another high figure would prompt authorities to tighten monetary policy further.
“Markets were overly worried when headline CPI inflation jumped to 3.2 per cent in February, so yesterday’s reading will definitely help alleviate the inflation and monetary-tightening concerns,” Bank of America Merrill Lynch economist Lu Ting said in a note, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
Chinese shares have suffered in recent months on concerns about the world’s number two economy, while the recent spike in inflation fuelled expectations the government would tighten monetary policy. —AFP
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