Stocks in Asia were mixed on Wednesday with the Nikkei (^N225) rising 0.2% on the day in Japan, while the Hang Seng (^HSI) rose 2.9% in Hong Kong.
The Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) was 0.4% down by the end of the session after the head of China’s securities watchdog said at a financial forum in Shanghai that the agency would be enhancing oversight of all financial activities to prevent potential risks.
It came as Japan’s trade data for May showed exports rose 13.5% and imports were up 9.5% from a year earlier. It was pushed higher by rising prices and the weaker value of the yen against the US dollar.
Minutes from the Bank of Japan’s latest policy meeting disclosed a debate among its decision makers over whether the yen’s weakness may push inflation still higher. Governor Kazuo Ueda has hinted at raising the benchmark interest rate in coming months, depending on economic data at the time.
Across the pond on Wall Street, the S&P…
