Stock indexes in Asia traded higher on Thursday after new economic reports from China and Japan. Chinese retail sales figures for July were higher than expected but industrial production underperformed. Japan's second-quarter GDP release came in considerably higher than expected, rising 0.5% compared to Q1 and 3.1% annually. The markets are still expecting the industrial output report for Japan coming up later today.
The Nikkei gained 0.90% at 4:20 am CET, the Hang Seng added 0.51%, and the S&P/ASX 200 improved by 0.30%. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite jumped 1.14% and the Shenzhen Composite increased by 1.18% at 4:21 am CET. The Kospi Composite was closed for a public holiday.
The dollar traded 0.12% higher against the yen and sold for 147.51100 at 4:22 am CET.
