Nikkei 225 Drops, Rest of Asia Climb on Cautious Yellen
The stocks on the Asian bourses climbed on Wednesday, taking the positive lead from the Wall Street overnight on dovish Yellen, which smashed April Fed rate hike expectations.
Nikkei bucks the trend as yen rises
The Japanese benchmark index, the Nikkei 225 is down -0.33%% to trade around 17,050 levels as the overnight rally in the yen versus the US dollar continues to weigh on the exports-oriented stocks. The greenback was heavily sold-off across the board on the dovish remarks by Fed Chair Yellen. Yellen reasserted the central bank’s gradual approach to raising interest rates and hence, traders slashed bets on a Fed rate hike next month to zero.
Moreover, weak Japanese industrial production data also dampened investors’ sentiment. Japan’s industrial production dropped the most since 2011, coming in at 6.2% m/m in February, as compared to a 5.8% decline forecast by markets.
The Australian markets rose for the first time in four days as markets cheer an extended period of easy money on dovish Yellen. However, the upside remains restricted as the recent strength in the AUD drags the retail and exports stocks lower. The ASX 200 index trades 0.30% higher above 5k mark.
Whilst the Chinese indices rebounded sharply and headed for the biggest gain in a week, tracking heavy gains on the financial and resource stocks. More so, upbeat corporate news also collaborated to the upward rally in the local indices. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index rallies 1.73%, Shenzhen’s CSI300 is up 1.62%, while China A50 shares inched 1.25% higher. Markets in Hong Kong also bolted higher, with the Hang Seng trading +1.65% around 20,700 levels.
(Market News Provided by FXstreet)
