Asian Markets mostly Higher after Chinese Data

The Asian and Pacific Rim, by mid-morning on Monday, saw their headline equity bourses trade mostly higher after better than expected economic data out of China.

Traders are also watching headlines out of the United States after Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said that a new trillion dollar fiscal stimulus plan is ready to go.

In other news, political tensions between China and the United States continue to mount as both countries are closing embassies and after the U.S. raided a Chinese consulate.

In Japan, the Asian benchmark bourse, the Nikkei 225 was down a little over half a percent by mid-morning. Shares on the Broader Topix index, in Tokyo, were down 0.48 percent.

In Taiwan, the Taiex led the region as shares were up 2.69 percent. Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company have popped ten (10) percent. In South Korea, the benchmark Kospi Composite index was up 1.2 percent.

Elsewhere in the Asian and Pacific Rim, the Australian S&P ASX 200 was up 0.23 percent. In Hong Kong, shares added 0.93 percent.

On the mainland, in China, the Shanghai composite tacked on 0.55 percent and the Shenzhen component was up over one percent.

Asian Markets watch Economic Data out of China

China released better than expected monthly industrial profit data on Monday. China’s industrial profits for June rose 11.5 percent annually according to the country’s official statistics bureau.

Japan released the Bank of Japan’s Summary of Opinions from their monetary policy and rate decision meeting in July. The central bank said that the island nation’s economy is expected to “pick up moderately” during the second half of this year.

The Bank of Japan also indicated that the economy “unlikely to return to the level reached before the outbreak of COVID-19, even in fiscal 2022.” The central bank is likely to maintain its long standing ultra-loose accommodative monetary policy for a long time.