Japan stocks cheer strong GDP, rest of Asia lower ahead of Fed

The trading activity on the Asian equity markets look largely mixed, with most major Asian markets tracking the negative close on the Wall Street overnight, while also remain cautious ahead of the Fed meeting minutes due to be published later today.

However, the Japanese stocks caught a sudden bid wave over the last hour and jumped higher, reversing initial gains as markets continue to cheer stronger than expected Japan’s Q1 GDP report. The economy grew 0.4% in Q1, coming in way above forecasts of a 0.1% expansion and the strongest rate of expansion since the March 2015 quarter.

Nikkei stages rebound as JPY wipes-out GDP-backed gains

Meanwhile, the Japanese benchmark index, the Nikkei 225 rebounds +0.61% to 16,766 points, on the back of a recovery in the USD/JPY pair above 109 handle.
Australia’s ASX 200 index drops -0.12% to 5,390 points, amid overall risk-off market profile and disappointing Aus wage price index.

While the Chinese equities drag the Asian markets lower, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite index dropping -0.87% to 2,818, the CSI300 index slips -0.64%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dives -1.33% to 19,870 levels.