Cherry trees in bloom near the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan, on Sunday, April 7, 2024.
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Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Wednesday with Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 reaching an all-time high.
The index gained 0.84%, surpassing the previous record of 8,037.30.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.18%, while the Topix was up 0.59% after the Reuters Tankan survey showed an increase in business optimism among large Japanese manufacturers.
The manufacturing index was at +11, up from +6 in the previous month. However, confidence among non-manufacturers dipped from +31 to +27.
Separately, Japanese authorities likely intervened in the currency market last Thursday and Friday, spending a total of 6 trillion yen ($37.9 billion) over the two days, according to Reuters.
The yen is currently at 158.47 against the U.S. dollar. The currency weakened to 161.82 last Wednesday before strengthening to as much as 157.41 the following day.
South Korea’s Kospi dipped 0.22%, with the the small-cap Kosdaq following suit and sliding 0.14%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell marginally, while China’s CSI 300 dipped 0.23%.
Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports dropped more than expected in June, marking a fifth straight month of declines. They fell 8.7% year on year compared to a 1.2% decline expected by economists polled by Reuters.
On a month-on-month basis, Singapore’s non-oil domestic unexpectedly dropped 0.4%, compared with a expectations of a 4.1% growth.
Overnight, Wall Street rose on optimism over possible rate cuts. The Dow blue-chip index gained 1.85%, closing at 40,954.48, while the broad-based S&P 500 added 0.64% to wrap the day at 5,667.20. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.20%.
—CNBC’s Pia Singh contributed to this report.
