Exports of cars to the US fell 4.4 percent in April from a year earlier, declining for the first time since November 2014. The Markit/Nikkei Flash Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell to 47.6 in May on a seasonally adjusted basis, from a final 48.2 in April.
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The US currency got off to a steady start to the week against other major peers, with the dollar index remaining within striking distance of a two-month peak after markets last week moved to price in a greater chance of an imminent hike in US interest rates.
Asian stocks turned in a mixed performance on Monday as worries about impending interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve continued to reverberate through markets.
The yen was trading at around 110 versus the dollar on Monday, pulling back from a 18-month high above 105 yen hit this month.
A surge in crude prices boosted petroleum-linked stocks, with energy explorer Inpex gaining 1.08 percent to 831.6 yen and refiner JX Holdings up 0.40 percent at 424.2 yen.
“The market is easily swayed by conflicting headlines on tax hike and fiscal measures”, said Hikaru Sato, a senior technical analyst at Daiwa Securities. Brent crude, used to price worldwide oils, lost 56 cents to $48.20 per barrel in London.
Japanese stocks rebounded on Wednesday morning as exporters received a boost from a stronger dollar following firm US housing data and as growing support for the British campaign to remain in the European Union bolstered global risk appetite.
Japan had a merchandise trade surplus of 823.474 billion yen in April, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday.
Their weekend gathering in Japan came ahead of a G7 summit this week in the country to be attended by US President Barack Obama and other leaders.
Data released from the government of the world’s third-largest economy surprised markets on Wednesday, reporting an expansion in its real GDP for the January-March period at an annualized 1.7 percent.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dropped 32.40 points or 0.61 percent to 5,318.90 and the broader All Ordinaries index shed 30.30 points or 0.56 percent to close at 5,384.90. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was up 0.3%.
The Australian dollar was last at $0.7230 having been as low as $0.7175 last week, a trough last witnessed over 2 months earlier.
Seoul shares ended marginally higher as both foreign and domestic institutional investors turned net buyers.
US futures pointed to a fall of around 0.3 percent at the open on Wall Street, as investors continued to digest last week’s surge in USA rate hike expectations.
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Also on Monday, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said keeping US interest rates too low for too long could cause financial instability and that stronger market expectations for a rate rise were “probably good”.
