Asian stock markets displayed mixed performances following a continued slow pace on Wall Street for the second consecutive day. Chinese markets, however, experienced gains after the country posted stronger-than-expected trade data for April.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index increased by 0.5% to 38,392.10.
Shares of Mitsubishi fell by 4.7% in early trading as the carmaker predicted a 7% decrease in net profit for the fiscal year ending in March 2025.
Toyota Motor saw a slight rise of 0.1% after announcing on Wednesday that its net profit for the fiscal year ended in March had doubled.
The U.S. dollar appreciated against the Japanese yen, moving from 155.52 yen to 155.59 yen, amid speculation in Tokyo about potential additional measures by the Finance Ministry to stem the yen’s weakening.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 1.2% to 18,538.57, while the Shanghai Composite index increased by 0.9% to 3,156.96.
China announced a 1.5% increase in exports and an 8.4% surge in imports for April, indicating a robust revival in demand, surpassing earlier projections.
South Korea’s Kospi declined by 0.6% to 2,729.64, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped by 0.9% to 7,735.20.
In the U.S., the S&P 500 was nearly unchanged at 5,187.67. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.4% to 39,056.39, while the Nasdaq Composite index fell by 0.2% to 16,302.76.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds increased slightly from 4.46% to 4.49% as of late Tuesday.
Asian markets were generally quiet on Thursday as investors awaited further trade data from China to assess the economic situation.
MSCI’s broad index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose by 0.1%, staying close to a 15-month high reached earlier in the week.
Chinese blue-chip stocks advanced by 0.6% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose by 0.7%, boosted by a 2% rise in technology shares and a rebound in Chinese property developers.
