Asian stock markets are generally performing strongly today, despite a lack of inputs from global markets closed in observance of Good Friday. This positive movement has been pushed by significant gains within China following domestic data that demonstrated an expansion in the manufacturing purchasing managers index for the first time since September. Friday's announcement of U.S. inflation data, which showed a lesser increase in February than expected, also factored into traders' decisions.
Speaking at a conference on Friday, U.S. Federal Reserve Chair, Jerome Powell, asserted that the inflation data was largely as expected, and made clear there was no rush on behalf of the Fed to cut interest rates. He recognised the potential risks of maintaining current interest rates but reiterated the need for consistent inflation control, with a target of 2%.
Meanwhile, the Australian stock market remained closed due to the Easter Monday holiday. Prior to the holiday, Australian markets ended on a high note last Thursday. The currency market now sees the Australian dollar trading at $0.652.
In contrast to the general trend in Asia, the Japanese stock market is experiencing a dip after initial positive trading, erasing all gains from the previous session. The Nikkei 225 benchmark fell below the 39,800 level, reflecting traders' responses to disappointing domestic economic data including a decline in business sentiment for the first time in a year and a ten-month streak of contracting factory activity.
Concerning individual companies, technology conglomerate SoftBank Group is slightly down by around 1%, but Fast Retailing, the operator of Uniqlo, is gaining more than 1%. Honda is down by more than 2%, while Toyota has lost almost 4%. In the tech sector, Screen Holdings, Advantest and Tokyo Electron have reported losses. The banking sector, including Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial, also reports losses.
However, several companies such as Fanuc, Casio Computer, Omron, Citizen Watch, Yaskawa Electric and Rakuten Group showed strong performance with gains near or exceeding 5%.
The U.S. dollar is currently trading in the lower 151 yen-range. Other Asian economies such as China, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia reported slight upward adjustments, while Indonesia and Taiwan noted modest decreases. New Zealand and Hong Kong joined Australia in observing Easter Monday.
Wall Street and major European markets remain quiet due to Good Friday.
