Asia report: Markets green as China grows

In what was becoming a familiar theme on Wednesday, markets in Asia turned a particularly orange shade of green as China showed signs it was expanding, though Trump-infused turmoil was still plaguing traders globally.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 managed to finish up 0.56% at 19,148.

Technology firm Toshiba finished 0.45% higher, after media reports that it would halt its nuclear power plant development as a result of the billions of dollars in losses it accumulated on delayed projects in the US.

Video gaming conglomerate Nintendo lost slid 3.27%, after it announced it was slashing its profit forecast by JPY 10bn after weak sales of its current consoles.

Its new console - Switch - has had a lukewarm reception from investors and media, and was due to be released in March.

Mitsubishi Motors surged 12.56% as it revised its forecast for the full year to JPY 1bn profits, from previous guidance of a JPY 27.6bn losses, as it continued to cut costs.

The yen was weaker against the greenback, last retreating 0.47% to JPY 113.33 per $1.

Markets on the mainland were still closed, and would remain so until Thursday, for the Lunar New Year holiday.

China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers index for January was released during the day, coming in at 51.3 - marginally above the forecast 51.2.

The country’s services PMI also showed expansion, with a reading of 54.6 for the month.

“This marks six consecutive months of expansion in the country's manufacturing sector and shows further stabilization of Asia's largest economy,” noted CMC Markets analyst Margaret Yang.

South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.62% at 2,080.48.

Fresh trade data out of Seoul during the session showed exports were up 11.2% year-on-year in January - the best rate of growth in five years.

Industrial output was down 0.5% in December, however - a wider drop than the 0.3% fall predicted by Reuters.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index reopened after an extended Lunar New Year holiday, and finished down 0.18% at 23,318.39.

Investors were also keeping a watchful eye on the US, where the Federal Reserve was set to make its first policy review of the year with wide expectations it will stand pat.

That was coming amid Trump-flavoured disarray in global markets, after the president’s top trade advisor released disparaging comments overnight, accusing Germany of using a “grossly undervalued” euro as an advantage over the US and other EU countries.

German chancellor Angela Merkel fervently rejected the accusations, saying her country was one that has always supported the European Central Bank’s independent policy.

But the heart of European industry wasn’t the only target of Trump and advisor Peter Navarro, who also commented on how China and Japan were devaluing their currencies to inflict pain upon US businesses and consumers.

Oil prices were down during Asian trading, though they turned around during early European hours, with Brent crude last up 0.22% at $55.70 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate adding 0.23% to $53.93.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 finished 0.57% higher at 5,653.17, with its gold subindex carrying the highest gains at 1.12%.

New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 rose 0.07% to 7,055.51, led higher by Port of Tauranga, which managed a 3.8% gain.

The country’s unemployment rate rose to 5.2% in the fourth quarter of 2016, fresh data showed, with wage growth stagnant at 0.4% quarter-on-quarter and 1.6% year-on-year.

It was a mixed picture for the down under dollars, with the Aussie last 0.11% stronger on the greenback at AUD 1.3170, and the Kiwi weakening 0.3% to NZD 1.3719 per $1.