SINGAPORE – Asia Pacific stocks barely changed on Wednesday morning, with major markets wrestling over direction.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell slightly while the Topix index rose 0.2%.
Japan’s retail sales rose 5.2% year over year in March, according to the government. According to Reuters, this was higher than a median market forecast for growth of 4.7%.
South Korea’s Kospi slipped easily. The S & P / ASX 200 in Australia was down about 0.1%. Australia’s inflation data for the first quarter are expected. The consumer price index is expected to be released at 9:30 a.m. HK / SIN.
MSCI’s broadest index for stocks in the Asia-Pacific region outside of Japan was down 0.08%.
On corporate developments, investors will monitor Alibaba’s Hong Kong-listed shares after the Wall Street Journal reported that China is investigating how founder Jack Ma received swift approval to list the company last year.
The major indices on Wall Street were muted overnight in the US. The S&P 500 closed little changed at 4,186.72, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average also ended its trading day largely unchanged at 33,984.93. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.34% to close at 14,090.22.
Currencies and oil
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback versus a basket of its peers, stood at 90.893 after hitting below 90.9 at the start of the trading week.
The Japanese yen was trading at 108.79 per dollar after weakening significantly below 108 against the greenback at the beginning of the trading week. The Australian dollar was trading at $ 0.7762 after yesterday’s drop of around $ 0.78.
Oil prices were higher on the morning of Asian trading hours and the international benchmark’s Brent crude oil futures rose 0.12% to $ 66.50 a barrel. US crude oil futures rose 0.13% to $ 63.02 a barrel.
Here’s a look at what’s on tap:
- Australia: First quarter consumer price index at 9:30 am HK / SIN
