Major Asian Bourses have a Mixed Day

The major Asian stock exchanges traded mixed this morning. This follows an up day for Wall Street as Asian investors are more focused on corporate earnings releases.

The Japanese benchmark, the Nikkei 225 was down 0.45 percent. The index hit a fresh 26 year high on Tuesday. Losses were thanks to a stronger yen. Automakers, financials and manufacturing companies were slightly lower today. Most retailers held onto moderate gains. Fast Retailing, however, shed some 0.55 percent.

The U.S. slipped again today to ¥110.12. This comes after the release of Japanese trade data. The USD/JPY Forex market had fallen as low as 110.05 earlier in the day. The dollar had was as high as ¥111.17 on Tuesday. That came after the Bank of Japan kept its monetary policy steady. However, that rally petered out.

Japanese economic data released today showed the country’s exports rose 9.3 percent in December. This is annually. While that was below the 10.1 percent forecasted by economists, the value of Japan’s December exports to Asia rose to a new record high.

Other Asian Market Trade Mixed on Wednesday

Across the Korean Straight, the Asian benchmark Kospi composite index reversed gains to move lower by 0.13 percent. The South Korean technology sector was a mixed. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rose by 0.2 percent and 1.96 percent, respectively. LG Electronics shed 2.28 percent.

In Australia, the S&P ASX 200 was up 0.3 percent. Most sectors gained this trade session. The exception, today, was in materials and telecommunications. The country’s so called “Big Four” banks were mostly higher this morning. Shares of Westpac bank led the way. They were up 0.62 percent.