Asian Stocks
Asian stocks were seen trading mixed on Wednesday as investors weighed on economic reports from the US and Japan. Meanwhile, the spotlight will be on the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) meeting minutes due to be released later today.
Japan
The Japanese Nikkei 225 index gained 0.03%, closing at 15,454.45 points, while Tokyo’s Topix index slid 0.04% lower to 1,279.84 points.
In Japan, the residence builder Tokyo dome rose 4.67%, while Hitachi Metals shares added 3.2% to 1,790 yen after announcing plans to pay $1.3 to buy Waupaca foundry. On the downside, Chugai Pharmaceuticals slid by 2%.
The nation’s trade data revealed that the trade gap increased unexpectedly from 823.2 billion yen in June to 964 billion yen in July. Exports advanced more than forecasted in July, rising 3.8% on a yearly basis and slightly higher than analysts’ estimate of a 2.8% rise, while imports rose 2.3%.
The deficit narrowed to 1.02 trillion yen in July on a seasonally-adjusted basis, while analysts expected a 761 billion.
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China
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.16% to 25,149.11 points at the time of writing, while the Chinese mainland Shanghai Composite lost 0.22% to 2,240.39 points.
During the trading session in china, HK & China Gas and property developer Henderson Land Development were leading gains on the Hang Seng index, with shares soaring 2.70% and 2.60% respectively. China Mengniu Diary shares fell 2.20% lower.
The South Korean Kospi index edged 0.08% higher to close at 2,072.78 points.
Australia
In Sydney, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.16% to close at 5,632.70 points.
Australia’s mining giants BHP Billiton lost 3.93% to A$38.13 after announcing a spinoff in the mining sector and refrained from a share buy-back program expected by investors. Meanwhile the pharmaceutical- product maker Acrux saw the most gains during the session, with shares climbed 9.14%.
Coca Cola Amatil fell 2.1% to A$9.54 after posting a drop in full-year earnings for the second time in a row.
The Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens gave his semi-annual speech before the House of Representatives’ Standing Committee on Economics on Wednesday, which shed more light on the bank’s stance.
European Stocks
Stocks in the European region were seen trading in between losses and gains on Wednesday as investors focus on the release of the minutes from the Bank of England’s latest meeting.
The European Euro Stoxx 50 edged 0.01% lower, trading at 3,091.34 at the time of writing, while the German DAX fell 0.10% lower to 9,325.62. UK’s benchmark FTSE 100 declined 0.11% to 6,772.31, while the French CAC 40 index lost 0.01% to trade at 4,250.92.
Germany producer prices fell 0.1% in July on a monthly basis and declined 0.8% on a yearly basis, the Federal Statistical Office said.
The market will be focusing on the release of the BoE’s meeting minutes as well as minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s July meeting minutes, both due later in the day.
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