Asian shares slip, but Japan GDP surprise lifts Nikkei

Asian shares slipped on Wednesday after a mixed day on Wall Street, though Japan’s better-than-expected economic growth lifted the Nikkei to a nearly one-month high.

The euro remained pressured by expectations that the European Central Bank would increase its bond-buying stimulus. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down about 0.1%. But the Nikkei stock index rose about 0.8%, approaching its best levels since late last month, after data released before the market open showed Japan’s economy grew at a 2.4% annualised rate in the January-March period. That was its fastest pace in a year, beating the consensus estimate for 1.5% growth.

While investors took heart from the overall GDP data, some warned that the details failed to tell a story of a sustainable economic recovery.

“Headlines are nice, but if you look at the content carefully, there are weak spots,” said Norihiro Fujito, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, citing higher inventory as an increase in business investment fell short of expectations.

Wall Street put in a mixed performance on Tuesday. The Dow Jones industrial average eked out a slight gain to close at a fresh record high, while the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 both edged down, though the latter touched a record intraday high. Data showed that US housing starts jumped to their highest level in nearly 7-1/2 years in April and building permits soared, raising hopes that the economy was regaining strength after stalling the first quarter but also rekindling fears that the US Federal Reserve would raise interest rates later this year.

The euro nursed losses after plunging more than 1% against the dollar in the previous session, following European Central Bank Executive Board member Benoit Coeure saying the ECB could ‘moderately’ increase its bond-buying program in May and June, and possibly in September.

The common currency was buying $ 1.1146, down slightly on the day.

“There are some positioning stories in the EUR but I don’t think it is an overall driving force right now. I believe investors are just pulling back to let the dust settle before they take the next step,” said Bart Wakabayashi, head of forex at State Street in Tokyo.

The dollar was slightly higher against the yen at 120.82, underpinned by the brighter US data on Tuesday after a spate of weak economic figures.

But the better-than-expected Japanese GDP figures gave some support to the yen, as they made it less likely that the Bank of Japan would take additional easing steps anytime soon.

 The BOJ is likely to stand pat at a policy meeting ending on Friday.

Oil prices rise on strong Japan, Australia economic data

Crude oil prices bounced back on Wednesday from steep falls in the previous session as strong Japanese economic growth surprised markets and the consumer outlook in Australia seemed to brighten, stoking producer hopes of increased demand.

Japan’s economy, the world’s third largest, expanded at an annualized rate of 2.4% in the first three months of this year, above a median market forecast for a 1.5% rise and following a revised 1.1% expansion in October-December, official data showed.

“Japan is one of the major importers of crude oil and growth in this region would definitely be favourable for crude demand,” Singapore-based brokerage Phillip Futures said. Brent futures LCOc1 were up 60 cents at $ 64.62 a barrel by 0310 GMT. US crude prices CLc1 were also up 60 cents at $ 58.59 a barrel. The price rises came after a session on Tuesday that saw oil slide over 3% on a dollar rally and concerns of a building glut, which Goldman Sachs said would lead to a return of 2015 lows. Japan’s weekly crude runs were at 3.02 million barrels per day for the week to 16 May, official data showed Wednesday, up 0.12% from this time last year, although 0.17%age points below the previous week.

The country’s refinery utilisation rate stood at 77.1%, up 3.5% from last year, but still 4.4% below the previous week.

In Australia, an important commodity employer and exporter, consumer sentiment surged in May as people’s outlook on the economy brightened following this month’s interest rate cut and after the government unveiled a budget that included a surprise tax break for small businesses.