Yahoo Finance Asian Indexes Were Subdued Except for Oceania Markets
Weak Earnings and Economic Releases Weigh on the Global Market
Asian markets were subdued
Major Asian markets (AAXJ) were trading lower on April 29. They were subdued after the Japanese monetary policy inaction continued to weigh markets down. For more details on the Bank of Japan’s policy, read Yen Appreciates Sharply as BoJ Inaction Surprises Markets. The contrasting data release from Korea and Australia also put pressure on the Asian markets.
The Japanese (DXJ) Nikkei 225 saw a heavy fall the previous day. It was closed on April 29 due to a holiday. The Chinese (MCHI) DJ Shanghai index fell 0.17%. The Hong Kong index Hang Seng saw the largest fall among Asian markets. It fell by 1.6%.
The Oceania indexes were positive despite contrasting data releases. The Australian (EWA) index S&P/ASX 200 and the Dow Jones New Zealand (VPL) rose by 0.51% and 0.44%, respectively. The Indian (INDA) index was trading nearly flat with a slight rise of 0.03%.
Korean data released on a contrasting note
Korean data came out on a mixed note on April 29. The industrial production data were below forecasts while the retail sales data beat the forecasts. Korea’s YoY (year-over-year) industrial and manufacturing production fell by 1.5% each against the forecast of a rise of 3.2% and 3.0%, respectively. The YoY retail sales rose by 5.7%—well above the forecast of a rise of 4.8%.
Oceania data release
The ANZ business confidence index for New Zealand came out at 6.2. It was above the forecast of 3.2. The New Zealand index was buoyed by the data release. It remained positive despite the fall in other major Asian markets. The Australian Bureau of Statistics published the quarter-over-quarter producer price index at a decline of 0.2%—compared to the forecast of a rise of 0.3%.
In the next part of the series, we’ll look at how the European markets fared on April 29 in the midst of a flurry of data releases from countries in the European Union.
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