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Asian shares mostly higher as China trade data may spur central bank

Published 04/13/2015, 12:06 AM
Updated 04/13/2015, 12:08 AM
© Reuters. Bank of China

© Reuters. Bank of China

Investing.com - Shares in Tokyo were steady after the break on Monday while other key markets gained on a mixed data day in the region.

The Nikkei 225 was flat at 19,905 after the lunch break as central bank minutes weighted on the policy outlook, while the Shanghai Composite gained 1.50% and the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.05% on expectations that disappointing trade data in China may spur the People's Bank of China to action.

The Hang Seng index was up 0.86%.

A few Bank of Japan board members expressed the view that the BoJ must pay closer attention to developments in the Japanese government bond market and the impact of an aggressive easing policy, according to minutes from the March policy meeting released Monday showed.

"A few members pressed the view that, in pursing QQE, it was important to carefully assess the mechanism of price formation in the JGB (Japanese government bond) market as well as examine and compare the positive effects and side effects of JGB purchases," the minutes showed.

The BoJ is currently buying about ¥80 trillion of JGBs annually.

Earlier, Japan said core machinery orders jumped 5.3% year-on-year in February, well above the gain of 3.7% expected.

Then, China said March exports slumped 14.6%, compared to a 12.0% year-on-year gain expected in March, while imports fell 12.3%, compared to an expectation of down 11.7% and a trade balance surplus of $3.08 billion, well below a $45.35 billion surplus seen.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies,rose 0.11% to 99.74 after the data.

Last week, investors regained confidence that the U.S. economy would continue to recover after recent economic reports pointed to a slowdown at the start of the year.

U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Industrials, Healthcare and Utilities sectors led shares higher.

At the close in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.55%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.52%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.43%.

Some investors had pushed back the timing of a rate hike until late 2015 after a surprisingly weak U.S. employment report for March.

In the week ahead, Wednesday’s monetary policy announcement and press conference by the ECB will be closely watched. A central bank meeting in Canada will also be in focus. Investors will also be looking ahead to Friday’s reports on U.S. inflation and consumer sentiment.

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