HONG KONG, Sept 8 — Asian markets mostly fell today following a recent run of gains but Hong Kong and Shanghai traders cheered data showing Chinese imports rose in August for the first time in almost two years.
Regional shares have enjoyed a strong run since the start of the month, fuelled by optimism about the state of the US economy and the prospects of borrowing costs being kept at ultra-low levels until at least December.
But the rally petered out today as investors put their foot on the brake.
Tokyo closed down 0.3 per cent but the standout performer was Nintendo, which soared on news it had developed an exclusive Super Mario game for Apple.
Sydney lost 0.7 per cent and Seoul shed 0.7 per cent. Singapore, Wellington and Bangkok also witnessed sharp losses.
“With the Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan (policy) meetings ahead of us, investors can’t make any outsized moves before the major events are over,” Takashi Hiroki, chief strategist at Monex Securities in Tokyo, told Bloomberg News.
“We have a lack of reasons to move, and have been seeing a directionless market for some time.”
But Hong Kong was up 0.4 per cent in the afternoon and Shanghai ended 0.1 per cent higher, reversing its early losses thanks to the trade figures.
China’s customs department said August imports rose 1.5 per cent on-year, the first increase in 22 months, while exports fell less than expected thanks to weakness in the country’s yuan currency.
Nintendo soars
The figures marked a sharp turnaround from July and will raise hopes the world’s number two economy and key driver of global growth is stabilising after years of slowing growth. The economy grew last year at its slowest pace in a quarter of a century.
In Tokyo gaming giant Nintendo soared 18 per cent at one point after it announced with Apple that “Super Mario Run” would be available on the App Store this year. It ended 13.2 per cent higher.
The news came after the global success of mobile game Pokemon Go, based other Nintendo characters, which has now been downloaded about half a billion times.
However, Japanese investors were left unimpressed by figures showing the economy grew just 0.7 per cent on an annualised basis in April-June, well down from the 2.1 per cent seen in the previous three months.
The figures are the latest to indicate Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s drive to kick-start the economy is having little impact, while they will also put pressure on the central bank to further loosen monetary policy.
On oil markets both main contracts extended recent gains on a softer dollar and industry data indicating US stockpiles sank last week.
The American Petroleum Institute, an industry-funded group, said US inventories fell 12.1 million barrels last week, according to Bloomberg News.
The data bodes well for the release of official figures later in the day, which will provide a clearer idea about demand in the world’s top economy.
In afternoon trade West Texas Intermediate was up 95 cents at US$46.45 and Brent was 87 cents higher at US$48.85.
Key figures around 0700 GMT -
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 per cent at 16,958.77 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.1 per cent at 3,095.95 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng: UP 0.4 per cent at 23,835.45
Pound/dollar: DOWN at US$1.3339 from US$1.3340
Euro/dollar: UP at US$1.1259 from US$1.1242 late yesterday
Dollar/yen: DOWN at ¥101.64 from ¥101.73
New York – DOW: DOWN 0.1 per cent at 18,526.14 (close)
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.3 per cent at 6,846.58 (close) — AFP
