Asian Markets Mixed Awaiting Corporate Earnings

Asian markets were trading mixed on Tuesday as investors stayed cautious ahead of company earnings reports.

A strong US dollar and economic woes in Europe could have had an impact on profits for firms in the third quarter, according to analysts.

In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 closed 0.7% lower at 15,783.83 after the Bank of Japan (BOJ) painted a bleaker outlook for the economy.

The Japanese yen weakened against the dollar, rising to 109.10.

The BOJ maintained its massive monetary easing plans, but said that weak consumer spending was impacting factory output and business sentiment.

“It’s true the effect [of the sales tax hike] on the economy is being prolonged. There’s also the effect of bad summer weather,” said BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda.

In Hong Kong, stocks inched higher as pro-democracy protests in the city started to taper.

The Hang Seng Index gained 0.4% to close at 23,408.19.

via BBC

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Alfonso Esparza

Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse
Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency
trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.
Alfonso Esparza