Asia-Pacific stocks were mixed on Friday as investors looked at economic data from China and digested Japan’s household spending numbers, with markets also assessing the European Central Bank’s rate cut.
China’s May exports beat expectations, climbing 7.6% against the 6% expected by a Reuters poll of economists and vastly higher than the 1.5% rise seen in April. Imports climbed 1.8% year on year, missing the 4.2% expected in a Reuters poll.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index reversed earlier gains to fall 0.75% after the trade data announcement, with the mainland Chinese CSI 300 falling 0.50% to close at 3,574.11. This marked three straight days of losses for the mainland index.
Japan released its household spending figures for April — a key metric to assess if the Bank of Japan’s expected “virtuous cycle” of rising wages and prices was underway.
The average monthly consumption expenditures per household for April was 313,300 yen, up 3.4% in nominal terms and up 0.5% in real terms. This marked the first rise in real household spending since February 2023.
April pay is key to watch as wage hikes commonly take effect during this month, which marks the beginning of Japanese companies’ financial years.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.05% to 38,683.93, while the broad-based Topix fell marginally to close at 2,755.03.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.23%, ending at 2,722.67 as investors returned from a public holiday, while the small-cap Kosdaq gained 1.81% to finish at 866.18.
The Australian S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.49%, marking a three day winning streak.
Overnight in the U.S., markets remained range-bound as traders looked ahead to Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report for May, with investors on the hunt for signs of a weakening labor market, which could support rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.
The S&P 500 ended Thursday marginally lower, after hitting an all-time intraday high earlier in the day. The Nasdaq Composite inched lower by 0.09%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%.
“To me, the market is still saying the economy is fine and not printing anything recessionary,” said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird. “But it could be the case that the Fed has already been too tight for too long and the momentum of a cooling job market will be hard to stop once it starts.”
