Asia: Shares mixed but Nikkei underpinned by solid growth figures

Japan’s Nikkei 225 was the standout gainer in Asia on Wednesday, closing at a fresh 15-year peak, as a weaker yen and encouraging growth figures underpinned sentiment.

The dollar rose to a two-month high against the yen after solid US housing starts for April, while stocks in Japan got support from data showing the country’s economy grew at a 2.4% annualised rate in the first quarter, fuelled by recoveries in the household and corporate sectors.

This marked the fastest pace in a year and beat consensus estimates for 1.5% growth. GDP climbed 0.6% on the quarter, up from 0.3% previously.

“Japan’s emergence from its post-tax-hike recession in mid-2014 continued in early 2015, with first-quarter GDP growth more than doubling from 0.3% quarter-on-quarter to 0.6% quarter-on-quarter,” said Christian Schulz, senior economist at Berenberg.

“The fact that five sixths of that expansion came from private inventories could in theory point to renewed weakness in coming quarters as companies unwind these built-up stocks. However, inventories are often attributed to other expenditure components such as investment and net exports in later releases, which would raise the quality of growth” he added.

The Nikkei 225 finished up 0.9% at 20,196.56.

In company news, shares in Takata Corp plunged 6% after the company said it would have to recall 33.8m cars due to defective airbags manufactured by one of its subsidiaries.

The Shanghai Composite index ended up 0.6% as investors continued to take heart from the prospect of further stimulus and investment from Beijing.

China’s cabinet announced a range of new growth measures on Tuesday, saying the country needs to deepen the economic system reform this year by opening up the financial sector to foreign and domestic investors, expanding capital markets and intensifying the reform of state-owned enterprises.

Australia’s ASX 200 ended down 0.1% at 5,610, with mining stocks under pressure as weak iron ore prices weighed on the sector, while the Hang Seng index slipped 0.4%.