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Asian stocks mixed with Australia closed; Nikkei down 0.02%

Published 03/28/2013, 11:00 PM
Updated 03/28/2013, 11:01 PM

Investing.com – Asian equities are mixed at this hour amid a lethargic session that is low on risk appetite ahead of a holiday weekend. Australian and U.S. markets are closed today in observance of the Good Friday holiday.

In Asian trading Friday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.02% after Japan’s Statistics Bureau said that Japanese household spending fell to a seasonally adjusted 0.8% in February from 2.4% in January. Analysts had expected Japanese household spending to fall to 0.2% last month.

The Statistics Bureau also said Japan’s unemployment rose slightly last month to 4.3% from 4.2%. Analysts expected the number to be unchanged. Japan’s national core CPI fell to a seasonally adjusted -0.3% in February from -0.2% in January, according to the Statistics Bureau. Analysts expected the core CPI to fall to -0.4% last month.

Tokyo’s core CPI rose to -0.5% in February from -0.6% in the prior month, topping the expectation that the number would remain unchanged, according to the Statistics Bureau. Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said that industrial production fell to a seasonally adjusted -0.1% in February from 0.3% in January. Analysts expected a February reading of 2.6%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.74% while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.30%. Shanghai shares rebounded after falling the most in three weeks on Thursday after bank stocks tumble. Chinese regulators announced they will turn up scrutiny of opaque wealth management products sold by Chinese banks.

New Zealand’s NZSE 50 rose 0.24% a day after official data showed that building consents in New Zealand rose 1.9% in February, after a 0.2% decline the previous month. Action in NZD/USD can also be described as lethargic today.

South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.68% after the Korean National Statistical Office said that South Korean industrial production fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of -9.3% in February from 7.6% in January. The January number was revised up from 7.3%. Analysts expected South Korean industrial production to fall to -5% last month.

Singapore’s Straits Times Index is down 0.15%. S&P 500 futures are higher by 0.05% a day after the benchmark index touched a new record high.


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