Asian markets lower as Chinese exports grow at a slower than expected

All ears are focused on China’s comments today. Chinese exports grew at a slower pace than economists forecast, overshadowing a rebound in Japan’s machinery orders today and US jobs coming in above expectations on Friday.

The MSCI Asia Pacific index shed a modest 0.3% at noon in Tokyo trading. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was among the exceptions, rising 0.3% after the nation’s machinery orders rebounded in January, signaling company investment will help to drive a return to growth.

The Japanese Yen’s cooling against the US dollar continues to provide relief for Japanese exporters, one year on after the devastating earthquake and tsunami. Still, Japan’s PM continued reiterate his view that the Yen remains overvalued despite its recent fall.

“Compared to record highs seen last October the Yen has weakened but as a trend it is still somewhat overvalued … The Yen is valued highly in relative terms when considering fundamentals,” Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said in parliament.

In other currencies, the US dollar last traded at 82.21 against the Yen while the Australian dollar was buying 1.0535 dollars and the Euro slipped back below 1.31 to trade at 1.3092. Risks assets were weighed down slightly following a speech by Chinese officials when stressed the capacity and willingness for further easing, but stopped short of any concrete efforts at the moment.

It’s worth pointing out that Chinese data in the first two months has been distorted by the timing of the Lunar New Year holiday, which fell in January this year and February last year. Gold slipped from its intraday high of US$1714/oz to last trade at US$1708/oz.

StoneX Financial Ltd (trading as “City Index”) is an execution-only service provider. This material, whether or not it states any opinions, is for general information purposes only and it does not take into account your personal circumstances or objectives. This material has been prepared using the thoughts and opinions of the author and these may change. However, City Index does not plan to provide further updates to any material once published and it is not under any obligation to keep this material up to date. This material is short term in nature and may only relate to facts and circumstances existing at a specific time or day. Nothing in this material is (or should be considered to be) financial, investment, legal, tax or other advice and no reliance should be placed on it.

No opinion given in this material constitutes a recommendation by City Index or the author that any particular investment, security, transaction or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. The material has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research. Although City Index is not specifically prevented from dealing before providing this material, City Index does not seek to take advantage of the material prior to its dissemination. This material is not intended for distribution to, or use by, any person in any country or jurisdiction where such distribution or use would be contrary to local law or regulation.

For further details see our full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary.

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. CFD and Forex Trading are leveraged products and your capital is at risk. They may not be suitable for everyone. Please ensure you fully understand the risks involved by reading our full risk warning.

City Index is a trading name of StoneX Financial Ltd. Head and Registered Office: 1st Floor, Moor House, 120 London Wall, London, EC2Y 5ET. StoneX Financial Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales, number: 05616586. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. FCA Register Number: 446717.

City Index is a trademark of StoneX Financial Ltd.

The information on this website is not targeted at the general public of any particular country. It is not intended for distribution to residents in any country where such distribution or use would contravene any local law or regulatory requirement.