Asian markets fell sharply Monday after the sluggish Chinese economic indicators added to the selling pressure in markets already weighed by a strong rebound in the yen, as well as a commodity-price slump and weak cues from Wall Street on Friday.
Chinese economic data released Monday, including first-quarter growth. The Shanghai Composite slid 0.8%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gave up 1.3% after figures showing the Chinese economy expanded 7.7% in the first quarter, compared to the year-earlier period.
Gross domestic product for the January-March quarter rose 7.7% from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said, weakening from 7.9% growth in the fourth quarter,
Among the March data, industrial production increased 8.9% from the year-earlier period. The growth was the weakest in more than a year, slowing from a 9.9% average rise for the January-February period, which China’s statistics bureau reports as one figure due to seasonal distortions from the Lunar New Year holiday.
March retail sales rose 12.6%, improving from 12.3% year-on-year growth in the January-February period, but far less than the 15.2% gain in December. Results for urban fixed-asset investment (FAI) — a gauge of construction and infrastructure spending — also showed slower growth. Reported on a year-to-date basis, FAI rose 20.9% in January-March from the comparable year-earlier period, down from 21.2% in January-February alone.
NYMEX light sweet crude oil futures are trading down more than $2 at $ 88.98 per barrel in Asia electronic session today. MCX April crude oil futures may open today’s session near Rs 4870 levels with support near Rs 4800 levels.
Source by Commodity Insights
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