Asian stocks were mixed Wednesday, with Tokyo unchanged after investors shrugged off data showing a contraction in the Japanese economy, and with the market digesting earnings news in Australia.
Japan’s Nikkei was flat after data showed that the country’s real gross domestic product shrank by 1.7% in the April to June period, slightly better than expectations of a 1.9% quarter-on-quarter fall. On an annualized basis, the economy shrank by 6.8%. The fall coincides with a hike in Japan’s consumption tax, which was increased to 8% at the beginning of April.
The yen was little moved in Asian trade, last at 102.26 to the dollar. With the data offering few surprises, trading in Tokyo was subdued after a series of recent volatile sessions that saw the Nikkei plunge 3% on Friday before bouncing back 2.4% on Monday. Activity was also quiet ahead of the annual ‘Obon’ midsummer holiday period—during which many traders in Japan go on vacation.
Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.
Latest posts by marketpulsefxstaff (see all)
- Oil Remains Near Multi-Month Lows - 6 August 2015
- U.S. Dollar Higher on Recent Data - 6 August 2015
- Greece’s PM Tsipras: Loan Deal with Lenders Close - 6 August 2015