Nikkei, Topix, CSI 300: Asian markets firmer after Chinese data – US job market in focus
China's exports surprisingly jumped in July. However, the tension ahead of the US jobs report in the afternoon limits the gains in Asia.
As Asian markets reacted to Chinese data, the Nikkei, Topix, and CSI 300 indices all showed firm gains, with a focus on the US job market ahead. Chinese stock markets rose by nearly one percent, while Japan's Nikkei index fell slightly and the broader Topix index slightly gained. South Korean Kospi Index slipped by a similar amount.
Chinese exports saw a surprising surge in July, with exports rising by 23.9 percent in dollar terms compared to the previous year, according to the customs administration. Analysts surveyed by Reuters had only expected a 22.2 percent rise, following a 27 percent increase in June. This trend underscores the recovery of the Middle Kingdom's economy, said Thomas Altmann, portfolio manager at QC Partners.
Investors were looking forward to the US labor market report at 14:30 MESZ for clues to the future interest rate policy of the US Federal Reserve. For July, analysts expect 80,000 new jobs after 57,000 in June, with the unemployment rate remaining unchanged at 4.2 percent. The Fed aims to curb inflation with higher interest rates and cool the tight jobs market.
In individual stocks, SoftBank fell by 2.5 percent. The technology investor had reported an 18 percent profit decline for the first quarter, which was lower than expected. Naoki Fujiwara, senior fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management, noted that the earnings surpassed analyst forecasts but did not provide the boost to the stock price that was anticipated.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
