Asian stocks rose broadly on Wednesday after the International Monetary Fund offered a more upbeat view on Asia’s economic outlook than six months ago and data showed a tamer-than-expected increase in U.S. underlying inflation.
Investors awaited cues from the U.S. earnings season, with JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc among the companies reporting their results later in the day.
Chinese shares advanced as strong exports data added to signs of a solidifying recovery in the world’s second-largest economy. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index ended up 20.25 points, or 0.60 percent, at 3,416.72, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rallied 403.58 points, or 1.42 percent, to 28,900.83.
Japanese shares ended lower as daily Covid cases in Osaka breached the 1,000 mark and data showed core machine orders sank 7.1 percent in February on an annual basis, missing forecasts for an increase of 2.3 percent following the 1.5 percent gain in the previous month.
The Nikkei average dropped 130.62 points, or 0.44 percent, to 29,620.99, while the broader Topix index closed 0.33 percent lower at 1,952.18.
Banks ended broadly lower, while tech shares surged, tracking gains among their U.S. peers overnight. Tokyo Electron rose 0.9 percent, Screen Holdings advanced 2.5 percent and Advantest added 1.3 percent.
Toshiba surged 5.8 percent after reports of its embattled Chief Executive Nobuaki Kurumatani stepping down as CEO amid declining trust in his leadership both at the company and among investors.
Australian markets gained ground after a survey showed consumer confidence in the country surged to an 11-year high in April. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 46.20 points, or 0.66 percent, to 7,023.10, while the broader All Ordinaries index ended up 49.60 points, or 0.69 percent, at 7,280.60.
Gold miners Newcrest, Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining surged 4-5 percent after gold prices rebounded on Tuesday from their lowest levels in more than a week.
Resolute Mining soared as much as 14.9 percent after the Ghanaian government restored the Africa-focused gold miner’s Bibiani Gold Mine lease.
Tech stocks also gained ground, with Afterpay, Appen, Xero and Wisetech Global climbing 2-3 percent.
Seoul stocks rose for the third day running after the release of better-than-expected jobs data. The benchmark Kospi inched up 13.30 points, or 0.42 percent, to 3,182.38 on economic recovery hopes after data showed the country added 314,000 jobs last month, marking the first job additions in 13 months.
Home appliances giant LG Electronics jumped 2.5 percent and leading carmaker Hyundai Motor rose 1.1 percent, while chipmaker SK Hynix fell 1.8 percent.
New Zealand shares rose notably as the country’s central bank left its monetary policy unchanged, as widely expected, and agreed to cut its interest rates further if required. The benchmark NZX-50 index climbed 94.96 points, or 0.75 percent, to 12,751.38.
U.S. stocks rose broadly overnight as expectations of strong quarterly earnings from big name companies outweighed strong inflation data and news about U.S. officials halting the administration of Johnson & Johnson vaccines over blood clot incidents.
The S&P 500 gained 0.3 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index rallied 1 percent while the Dow slipped 0.2 percent.
Business News
Asian Shares Rise After US Inflation Data
2021-04-14 08:36:20
