SYDNEY (Reuters) – Asian stocks were flat on Monday even after another robust performance on Wall Street, while commodities and major currencies were subdued as investors kept to the sidelines ahead of fresh economic data from China.
China’s GDP growth is expected to have slowed to 7.5 percent from 7.7 percent in the second quarter on a year earlier, as weak overseas demand hit output and investment.
In an apparent attempt to defuse market worries of a more severe slowdown, the official Xinhua News Agency on Saturday corrected a dispatch that quoted the finance minister as saying growth could be 7 percent this year.
MSCI (NYSE: MSCI – news) ‘s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was little changed, with Australian shares up 0.2 percent, while South Korea stocks eased 0.7 percent.
Japanese financial markets were closed for a public holiday.
“All eyes are on China today. The market will likely move sideways as investors await the data,” said Lee Eun-taek, a market analyst at Dongbu Securities.
The timid performance on Asian bourses was in sharp contrast to solid strides seen in U.S. markets that have taken both the Dow Jones (DJI: ^DJI – news) and S&P 500 index to record closing highs.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s latest pledge to keep monetary policy loose for some time helped spark the rally in U.S. stocks and forced markets to rein in hawkish expectations.
That has weighed significantly on the U.S. dollar, which fell 1.7 percent against a basket of major currencies last week in its second-biggest weekly fall this year.
The dollar index was a touch softer at 82.966 in early trade, having slid to a two-week low of 82.418 last week.
Renewed weakness in the greenback helped the euro jump as high as $1.3208 last week, from lows around $1.2755. However, the common currency has since given back a bit of ground to $1.3062.
Not benefiting from the dollar’s selloff was the Australian dollar, which briefly dipped below 90 U.S. cents on Friday for the first time in three years.
It remained on the defensive at $0.9085 ahead of the Chinese data. China is Australia’s single biggest export market.
Commodity markets were also in suspended animation ahead of the figures. Copper was little changed at $6,943 a tonne, while U.S. crude was a touch softer at $105.84 a barrel.
Gold was steady at $1,290 an ounce, following last week’s near 5 percent surge — its biggest weekly advance in nearly two years.
(Additional reporting by Jungyoun Park in Seoul)
Source: Reuters
