Investing.com - Asian stock markets edged higher in subdued trade on Thursday, as investors remained cautious ahead of a possible missile launch by North Korea and ahead of key economic data from China on Friday.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.55%, Australia’s ASX/200 Index gained 0.65%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index added 0.6%.
Worries that North Korea will test a long-range rocket cast a shadow over trading early in the session. However, gains picked up once the window for firing the rocket past, keeping the region on edge for at l east another day.
North Korea has said that it plans to carry out the launch sometime between Thursday and Monday, between the hours of 7 a.m. and noon, local time.
Meanwhile, investors stuck to the sidelines ahead of the release of Chinese first quarter gross domestic product figures on Friday.
The World Bank was the latest to cut China’s growth figures, saying it expected the Asian nation to grow at a rate of 8.2% this year, down from a January projection of 8.4%.
Investors have been searching for clues in regards to Chinese growth prospects in recent weeks amid fears the country is headed towards a ‘hard landing’. China lowered its GDP growth target for this year to 7.5% last month, the lowest in eight years.
A deeper slowdown in China would impair a global expansion that is already faltering because of the implementation of harsh austerity measures in Europe.
In Japan, the Nikkei rose for the first time in eight days, coming off a seven-week low. The Nikkei rallied more than 19% in the first three months of the year, buoyed in large part by an unexpected easing announcement by the Bank of Japan in February, but the index has fallen more than 6% since the start of April.
Most market participants expect the correction to continue until the end of the month, when the BoJ meets for its April policy meeting, amid expectations the central bank will implement new easing measures.
Shares in Hitachi Construction Machinery rallied 4.1% after the Nikkei business daily said the company was expected to post an operating profit of JPY80 billion for the year ending March 2013, compared with the company's forecast of JPY60 billion for the year ended March 2012.
Elsewhere, shares in Hong Kong advanced, as financial sector stocks rose amid speculation Beijing will introduce fresh stimulus measures to boost growth.
Japanese brokerage house Nomura Holdings wrote in a report dated Wednesday that China may cut interest rates in the “immediate future.”
Bank of China shares rose 2.55%, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China climbed 1.4%, while index heavyweight HSBC Holdings added 0.7%.
On the downside, shares in Foxconn International Holdings tumbled 6.5%, following a profit warning from core customer Nokia, which sent Nokia shares plunging almost 16% on Wall Street on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, in Australia, shares rose on the back of a report showing that the nation’s employers added 44,000 jobs in March, beating expectations for a 6,400 rise and following a 15,400 decline the previous month.
The report also showed that Australia’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.2% in March, confounding expectations for a rise to 5.3%.
Looking ahead, European stock markets were set to open mildly higher, but gains were limited as Spain’s leadership struggled to gain support for new austerity measures.
The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a gain of 0.4%, France’s CAC 40 futures added 0.2%, London’s FTSE 100 futures eased up 0.1%, while Germany's DAX futures pointed to a gain of 0.4% at the open.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to release a report on industrial production, while the U.S. was to produce official data on the trade balance and initial unemployment claims.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.55%, Australia’s ASX/200 Index gained 0.65%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index added 0.6%.
Worries that North Korea will test a long-range rocket cast a shadow over trading early in the session. However, gains picked up once the window for firing the rocket past, keeping the region on edge for at l east another day.
North Korea has said that it plans to carry out the launch sometime between Thursday and Monday, between the hours of 7 a.m. and noon, local time.
Meanwhile, investors stuck to the sidelines ahead of the release of Chinese first quarter gross domestic product figures on Friday.
The World Bank was the latest to cut China’s growth figures, saying it expected the Asian nation to grow at a rate of 8.2% this year, down from a January projection of 8.4%.
Investors have been searching for clues in regards to Chinese growth prospects in recent weeks amid fears the country is headed towards a ‘hard landing’. China lowered its GDP growth target for this year to 7.5% last month, the lowest in eight years.
A deeper slowdown in China would impair a global expansion that is already faltering because of the implementation of harsh austerity measures in Europe.
In Japan, the Nikkei rose for the first time in eight days, coming off a seven-week low. The Nikkei rallied more than 19% in the first three months of the year, buoyed in large part by an unexpected easing announcement by the Bank of Japan in February, but the index has fallen more than 6% since the start of April.
Most market participants expect the correction to continue until the end of the month, when the BoJ meets for its April policy meeting, amid expectations the central bank will implement new easing measures.
Shares in Hitachi Construction Machinery rallied 4.1% after the Nikkei business daily said the company was expected to post an operating profit of JPY80 billion for the year ending March 2013, compared with the company's forecast of JPY60 billion for the year ended March 2012.
Elsewhere, shares in Hong Kong advanced, as financial sector stocks rose amid speculation Beijing will introduce fresh stimulus measures to boost growth.
Japanese brokerage house Nomura Holdings wrote in a report dated Wednesday that China may cut interest rates in the “immediate future.”
Bank of China shares rose 2.55%, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China climbed 1.4%, while index heavyweight HSBC Holdings added 0.7%.
On the downside, shares in Foxconn International Holdings tumbled 6.5%, following a profit warning from core customer Nokia, which sent Nokia shares plunging almost 16% on Wall Street on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, in Australia, shares rose on the back of a report showing that the nation’s employers added 44,000 jobs in March, beating expectations for a 6,400 rise and following a 15,400 decline the previous month.
The report also showed that Australia’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.2% in March, confounding expectations for a rise to 5.3%.
Looking ahead, European stock markets were set to open mildly higher, but gains were limited as Spain’s leadership struggled to gain support for new austerity measures.
The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a gain of 0.4%, France’s CAC 40 futures added 0.2%, London’s FTSE 100 futures eased up 0.1%, while Germany's DAX futures pointed to a gain of 0.4% at the open.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to release a report on industrial production, while the U.S. was to produce official data on the trade balance and initial unemployment claims.