As most of the Asian markets responded negatively to China’s poor trade data, it appears that Chinese equities remain unworried. With most of the Asian indices down, China’s Shanghai SE Composite Index closed higher by 0.14% to 2,901.39. Taiwan TSEC 50 Index followed in the footsteps and closed 0.05% up at 8,664.31.
China disappoints with terrible numbers
Hang Seng posted a larger loss of 0.78% at 20,001.59 while Japan’s Nikkei 225 had shed 128.17 points to settle at 16,783.15. Japan’s government report showed that its economy contracted 1.1% year-on-year during the last quarter of 2015. China’s official data revealed that its exports slipped 25.4% in February and imports tumbled 13.8% during the period. The fall in both imports and exports came higher than the expectations by the economists.
The reaction amid the European markets was much similar to that of Asian counterparts. Nearly all European indices opened on a sour note, fretting over the continued slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy, China.
Stimulus hopes
Though Chinese Lunar New Year leads to some contraction, the figures reported, this time, are widely lower than the expectations. After the trade numbers, market participants are hoping that the Chinese government will announce more stimulus through both monetary and fiscal measures. However, its focus on maintaining Yuan stability is dampening such expectations.
FTSE 100 lost nearly 0.81% to 6,132.57 during the morning traded. Euronext 100 opened 1.24% lower at 854.46 while CAC 40 shed 1.29% to 4,384.95. Germany’s DAX inched down by 1.12% to 9,669.77. At the same time, there are heightened expectations that the European Central Bank will provide more stimulus during its upcoming meet this week.
During the last trading session, the U.S. markets managed to maintain fifth day gain as they closed slightly higher than the Friday’s mark. Buying interest in refiners, drillers and energy companies kept the markets alive for lack of any key economic data in the region. Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day 0.40% higher at 67.18 while S&P 500 Index moved up by 0.09% to 2,001.76.