Investing.com – Asian equities were mixed in morning trade on Wednesday as markets struggled to find direction. China’s factory inflation in March was in focus as data showed it slowed for the fifth month.
The producer price index (PPI) rose 3.1% in March from a year earlier, compared with the 3.7% in February and the projected 3.3% rise, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on its website. On a month-on-month basis, the PPI fell 0.2%.
Meanwhile, the consumer price index (CPI) gained 2.1% from a year earlier, missed the expectation of 2.6% and slowed from February’s gain of 2.9% as the effects of booming demands spurred by the Chinese New Year Holiday receded.
The Shanghai Composite gained 0.9% while the Shenzhen Component rose 0.8% by 1:16PM ET (05:16 GMT). Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index traded 0.9% higher in afternoon trade.
Although not a directional driver, the People’s Bank of China’s governor Yi Gang said at the Boao forum on Wednesday that China would allow more foreign banks in the country’s financial sector this year. Yi then reiterated that China and the U.S. should approach their trade issues in “rational ways”, and that the central bank would not let the yuan depreciate.
Overnight, The Dow advanced 1.8%, the S&P 500 rose 1.7% and the Nasdaq Composite added 2.1%. Chinese president Xi’s speech on Tuesday at the Boao forum continued to be cited as tailwind for equities as it helped ease fears over a trade war between China and the U.S.
Xi promised on Tuesday to further open up its economy and cut import tariffs. In response, U.S. president Trump praised his speech and said he looked forward to making “great progress” with China.
“Very thankful for President Xi of China’s kind words on tariffs and automobile barriers,” Trump said on Twitter. “Also, his enlightenment on intellectual property and technology transfers. We will make great progress together!”
The Nikkei 225 traded 0.3% lower. Japan’s February core machinery orders unexpectedly rose 2.1%, versus the estimated 2.5% decline.
Elsewhere, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.4%, while South Korea’s KOSPI lost 0.2%.