Asian Shares as Investors mull Chinese GDP

Most Asian market shares were drifting during Asian trade hours Tuesday morning. Investors were eying better than expected gross domestic product data out of China as well as a steady dollar that was broadly steady. This comes after falling thanks to an overnight pick up in investor confidence. That increase came amid fading geopolitical concerns.

In Tokyo, the Asian benchmark, the Nikkei 225 was flat. It was last up a mere 0.01 percent. The broader Topix was down by 0.22 percent. Plays in the oil sector were higher amid declines in most other sectors on the Topix.

In Seoul South Korea, the Asian bourse, the Kospi composite index was down 0.1 percent. This morning, shares of automakers were trading higher.

Asian Investors watch Strong Chinese GDP Data

The equity markets in China were lower after the release of key gross domestic product (GDP) data on Tuesday. They did recover some of the steeper declines from earlier in the session. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 0.08 percent. There were small gains in the technology sector. These gains were offset by declines in property and industrials plays.

The Shanghai composite was last down by 0.12 percent and the Shenzhen composite was down by 0.48 percent.

China’s economy grew 6.8 percent for the first quarter of 2018. This is according to the country’s statistical bureau. The figure beat an estimate of 6.7 percent annual growth by analysts and economists.

Asian investors were cautious this morning came despite U.S. stocks closing higher in the overnight North American trade session. Traders will be shifting their attention from geopolitical tensions to corporate earnings releases due out soon.