Asian stocks were mixed on Wednesday after a preliminary gauge of Chinese factory activity for April showed a slight improvement from March. HSBC's flash purchasing manager's index (PMI) for China came in at 48.3 in April, higher than the bank's final March reading of 48, but still in contraction territory for a fourth straight month.
"It is slightly better than what I called for but I wouldn't read too much into it. Leading indicators nowadays are giving conflicting signals but I think the property sector is slowing down very fast and that's the reason why we're very worried about the second-quarter GDP. We think it's going to slow down," said Zhang Zhiwei, chief China economist at Nomura.
A strong lead from Wall Street overnight helped to lift sentiment in Asia. U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 extending its longest winning run of the year, on the back of earnings reports and high-profile deals in the healthcare sector.
This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities.
Opinions are the authors — not necessarily OANDA’s, its officers or directors. OANDA’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy apply. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds.
Recommended Content
Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD drops below 1.0800 after German Retail Sales data
EUR/USD has come under fresh selling pressure and trades below 1.0800 after the data from Germany showed that Retail Sales declined by 1.9% MoM in February. Resurgent US Dollar demand is adding to the downside in the pair. US data are next in focus.
GBP/USD stays weak near 1.2600 amid market caution
GBP/USD remains defensive near 1.2600 in European trading on Thursday. The hawkish tone from Fed Governor Christopher Waller keeps the US Dollar afloat amid a cautious trading environment ahead of key US data releases and the Good Friday trading lull.
Gold price holds strength ahead of US core PCE inflation
Gold price holds onto gains near $2,200 in Thursday’s European session. The precious metal exhibits firm footing ahead of the United States core PCE Price Index data for February, which will be published on Friday.
XRP price falls to $0.60 support as Ripple ruling doesn’t help Coinbase lawsuit against SEC
XRP programmatic sales ruling by Judge Torres was completely rejected by another US Court that ruled in favor of the SEC in a lawsuit against Coinbase.
Portfolio rebalancing and reflation trades emerge into Q2
Yesterday’s price action pointed at a possible end-of-quarter portfolio rebalancing as the session saw the laggards of the quarter like Apple and Tesla gain, and the stars like Microsoft and Nvidia retreat.