The region took a positive lead from the U.S., where Wall Street snapped a two-day losing streak on Monday, as investors welcomed a larger-than-expected 1.1% rise in March retail salessuggesting that consumer demand in the world's largest economy is reheating after a cold winter.
But, concerns over tensions between Ukraine and Russia and caution ahead of reports on China first-quarter growth tomorrow kept gains in check.
In the latest Ukraine development, two pro-Russian politicians have been attacked by pro-Ukrainian activists in the capital Kiev as tensions grow over unrest in eastern parts of Ukraine, where pro-Russian gunmen have seized government buildings in nearly 10 cities. Ukrainian and Western officials have accused Moscow of instigating a pro-Russian insurgency in eastern Ukraine. That raised the prospect of more sanctions against Russia, possibly affecting the valuable energy trade.
Envoys from Ukraine, Russia, the U.S. and European Union are scheduled to hold talks in Geneva on April 17 in an attempt to resolve the crisis.
China is scheduled to release first-quarter gross domestic product and fixed-asset investment, along with March industrial production and retail sales on Wednesday. China's leaders are targeting growth of 7.5% this year for the world's second-biggest economy. But exports and imports have been weak in the first quarter, suggesting the economy is slowing and raising the risk of job's losses. China's growth of 7.7% last year tied 2012 for the slowest since 1999.
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Also, the slowest increase in the money supply on record in the world's second-largest economy eroded investors' confidence. Data from the central bank showed Tuesday that China's broadest measure of money supply, M2, was up 12.1% at the end of March compared with a year earlier, slower than the 13.3% increase at the end of February.
Among Asian bourses, Australian share market finished the session modest higher, on the back of gains in heavyweight shares of consumer goods, retailers, materials and resources, industrials, realty, and financial sectors. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 and the broader All Ordinaries each rose by 0.5% from prior day to finish at 5388.20 and 5380.30, respectively.
Sydney market opened higher today, as investors chased for value buying on signs the world's biggest economy is growing after United States retail sales rose 1.1% in March, beating expectations for a 0.9% lift while February 's figures were also revised higher. Meanwhile, confirmation from the Reserve Bank of Australia that interest rates are set to remain steady also underpinned bargain buying on the market.
The Reserve Bank board minutes suggested that the central bank is no hurry to raise rates. The RBA has kept the cash rate at 2.5% since August 2013. Developments in the employment story and inflation could be play important roles in the RBA's interest rate decision making process.
Shares of Australian financials were up, with top lenders leading rally. ANZ Banking Group added 0.5% to A$33.52, Commonwealth Bank of Australia 0.5% to A$76.90, Westpac Banking Corp 0.6% to A$34.37 and National Australia Bank 0.5% to A$35.06.
Material and resource stocks climbed up, with mining giant BHP Billiton up by 1.1% to A$37.78 and Fortescue Metals Group rose 1% to A$5.33 ahead of quarterly production numbers. Rio Tinto added 0.1% to A$63.3526 as the world no.2 iron ore miner posted an 8% drop in its first quarter shipments compared with the previous quarter, but said production was still up 16% on the first quarter a year ago as it ramps up production at its Australian mines. OZ Minerals fell 1.1% to A$3.64 despite posting solid first quarter copper production at 18,000 tonnes.
Kimberley Diamonds slumped 9.5% to A$1.05 after the company said it had deferred its capital raising, with the recommissioning of its mine in Botswana and the commencement of mining operations at Smoke Creek postponed until funding is available.
Nufarm shares rose 2% to A$4.07 as the agriculture chemical company said it will close its manufacturing facility in New Zealand with expected annualised savings of A$3 million.
In Japan,Japanese share market advanced today, supported by gains in exporters stocks as investors took heart from a rebound on Wall Street overnight and halt in yen appreciation against the greenback. The benchmark Nikkei-225 index advanced 0.6% to finish at 13996.81, while the broader Topix index rose 0.3% to 1136.09.
Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Hiroshi Nakaso said there are no financial imbalances in the system as yet but the BOJ will carefully monitor the balance sheet to see whether such imbalances accumulate due to its aggressive easing. Nakaso also said that it isn't appropriate to comment on a strategy to exit the easy policy. He added that an exit strategy is very difficult as the scale of the BOJ's balance sheet is huge and the remaining life of Japanese government bonds held by the BOJ is overly long.
In China, key benchmark indices of the Mainland China share market declined, as investors locked in recent gains on concerns over liquidity crunch after the People's Bank of China drained a hefty 172 billion yuan via repurchase agreements and on caution ahead of reports on first-quarter growth tomorrow. Meanwhile, investors also used the money supply data as an excuse to take profit. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks both A and B shares, declined 1.4% to 2,101.60 at the close.
Risk sentiments turned bearish after the People's Bank of China drained a hefty 172 billion yuan via repurchase agreements on Tuesday, putting the bank on track to conduct a net drain this week, despite the large volume of transactions due to unwind. The 172 billion yuan repos (93 billion yuan via 28-day instruments and another 79 billion yuan via 14-day instruments) were conducted during the morning's open market operation in the face of the 226 billion yuan in outstanding instruments that are set to mature this week. That leaves just 54 billion yuan to be countered with repo transactions during Thursday's operation. Market participants are expecting liquidity conditions to tighten in the weeks ahead. Premier Li Keqiang said last week that his government doesn't intend to roll out major stimulus measures to tackle short-term economic volatility.
Stocks extended losses after data showed M2, China's broadest measure of money supply, rose 12.1% in March from a year earlier, compared with 13.3% in February, Aggregate financing was 2.07 trillion yuan ($333 billion) in March, the People's Bank of China said in Beijing today, down from 2.55 trillion yuan a year ago. Yuan deposits rose 3.67 trillion yuan in March from the previous month, slower than last year's increase, the PBOC said today.
The National Bureau of Statistics reports tomorrow on first-quarter gross domestic product and fixed-asset investment, along with March industrial production and retail sales.
Among SSE sectors, 9/10 sectors of the SSE index declined, with financial sector was top loser in the SSE sectoral peers, with a 2.3% fall. Energy and consumer discretionary sectors dived 1.8% each, meanwhile material issue lost 1.5%, industrial down 1.3%, consumer staples down 1.2%, utilities down 1.1%, healthcare down 0.9% and telecommunication services down 0.2%.
Among top blue chips, Poly Real Estate Group Co and Industrial Bank Co fell more than 3% as a gauge of financial shares posted its biggest loss in a month, while the one-year interest-rate swap dropped as much as eight basis points to a one-month low. China Shenhua Energy Co, a unit of the nation's largest coal producer, slid 2.4%, while Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co lost 1.8%.
In Hong Kong, shares in the city's market finished the session sharp lower, as wave of profit taking across the board, on tracking decline in Mainland market, with financial, realty and resources stocks led downward move. The benchmark Hang Seng index closed 367.54 points down at 22671.26, after touching intraday peak of 23054.35.
Among the HK 50 blue chips, 47 fell and 3 rose. China Merchants Holdings (International) Co declined 5.6% to HK$25.55, contributing 5-points losses to the benchmark Index and becoming the worst-performing blue chip. Cheung Kong advanced 0.4% to HK$136.20, contributing 2-points gains to the benchmark Index and becoming the best-performing blue chip.
China-focused developers were lower on central bank's liquidity withdrawal. Sunac (01918) and Country Garden (02007) declined 4% and 6% to HK$4.46 and HK$3.32. CR Land (01109) and COLI (00688) descended 3% to HK$16.96 and HK$20.15.
Mainland lenders fell across the board as the new loan growth for March reduced. Minsheng Bank (01988) plunged 8.2% to HK$7.98. Citic Bank (00998) plummeted 6.5% to HK$4.63. The Big-four also came down by 1%-2%. HKEx (00388) met profit-taking after two-day of rally, retreating 5.2% to HK$141.9.
TCL Communication Technology shares advanced 1.7% to HK$8.83 after the communication equipment maker forecasted to post record profit for the three months ended 31 March 2014 as compared to a loss recorded for the corresponding period in 2013. Such expected turnaround to profit was primarily attributable to right smartphone strategy, increase in sales volume and improved operational efficiency. The Group has successfully transformed its business focus from feature phone to smartphone. Smartphone and other smart devices accounted for 46% of the overall shipment in the reporting period, significantly increased from 17% of the same period of 2013.
In Singapore, Singapore stocks extended their recent gains yet again; rallying reports a plan by CapitaLand- Southeast Asia's biggest property developer to buy up shares in one of its subsidiaries. The market was supported yesterday on hopes of a decent economic performance this year. The benchmark Strait Times index soared to a seven month high in intraday moves and closed at 3246.30, up 31.50 points or 1% on the day.
CapitaMalls Asia soared 21% after top property developer CapitaLand Ltd offered to buy out minority shareholders in the Singapore-listed shopping mall operator. The $2.45 billion deal is aimed at simplifying CapitaLand's corporate structure and taking advantage of a discount valuation at CapitaMalls. Shares of CapitaLand also gained more than 6%.
Singapore central bank decided to leave its monetary policy unchanged on Monday. Barring a significant shock in the external environment, the Singapore economy should expand at a moderate pace over the course of the year, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said in its half-yearly statement. The bank observed that the current policy stance is appropriate, taking into account the balance of risks between external demand uncertainties and rising domestic inflationary pressures.
The central bank also lowered its forecast for inflation for 2014 to 1.5-2.5% from 2-3% mainly reflecting this weaker outlook for imputed rentals over the rest of the year. Data released by the Ministry of Trade and Industry today showed that the city-state economy grew 5.1% on a year-on-year basis in the first quarter, but lower than the 5.5% growth seen in the previous quarter.
Singapore's first-quarter home prices dropped for a second consecutive quarter on tighter mortgages. An index tracking private residential prices eased by 1.3% to 211.6 points in the three months ended March 31 following a 0.9% drop in the previous three-month period, according to preliminary data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority today. The latest drop is the largest since June 2009.
In India, key benchmark indices declined today due to weak domestic macroeconomic data and spike in crude oil prices. The S&P BSE Sensex lost 144.03 points or 0.64% to settle at 22,484.93, while the CNX Nifty lost 43.20 points or 0.64% to settle at 6,733.10, lowest closing level since 7 April 2014.
Data released by the Indian government today, 15 April 2014, showed that the rate of inflation based on wholesale price index (WPI) accelerated in March 2014. Another data released by the government after trading hours on Friday, 11 April 2014, showed that India's industrial production witnessed a surprise contraction in February 2014 as manufacturing activity shrunk. That data came after another data released during trading hours on Friday, 11 April 2014, showed that India's merchandise exports declined for the second month in a row in March 2014.
Increase in crude oil prices triggered concerns about India's current account deficit and fiscal deficit. Brent and West Texas Intermediate crudes rose to five-week high on Monday, 14 April 2014, as tension escalated between Ukraine and Russia, the world's biggest energy exporter. Brent for May settlement increased $1.74 to $109.07 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe. It was the highest close since March 4. WTI for May delivery gained 31 cents to $104.05 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the highest settlement since March 3. India imports majority of its crude oil requirements.
Metal and mining stocks declined as China's broadest measure of new credit fell 19% in March from a year earlier and money supply grew at the slowest pace since 2001. Shares of IT major Infosys edged higher in choppy trade after the company issued a guidance of 7% to 9% growth in revenue in dollar terms for the year ending 31 March 2015 (FY2015) at the time of announcement of Q4 and year ended 31 March 2014 (FY 2014) results before trading hours today, 15 April 2014. Shares of other IT companies also gained after Infosys' FY 2015 revenue growth guidance. Index heavyweight and cigarette major ITC edged lower in volatile trade. United Spirits jumped after Diageo Plc, the world's largest distiller, announced a voluntary open offer to raise its stake in the company.
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region, New Zealand's NZX50 added 0.25%. Taiwan's Taiex index added 0.67%. South Korea's KOSPI index was down 0.24%. Malaysia's KLSE Composite rose 0.13%. Singapore's Straits Times index rose 0.98%. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index rose 0.11%.
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