Australian stocks drive Asia lower, ignore upbeat Aus GDP

The Asian stock markets snapped previous gains and fell into the negative territory, as renewed weakness in the oil and copper prices weighed heavily on the resource and energy stocks. While poor set of manufacturing PMI reports from Japan as well as China, also dampened investors’ sentiment.

Meanwhile, traders also remained cautious heading closer towards the OPEC June 2 meeting and US jobs report, with both events likely to trigger huge volatility and could have major impact across the financial markets.

ASX shrugs off upbeat Aus GDP

The Japanese benchmark index, the Nikkei 225 now drops -0.57% and hovers around 17,138 levels as USD/JPY jumps back into the bids as markets await PM Abe’s comments on the sales tax hike delay issue.

 Australia’s ASX 200 index slumps -1.26% as weaker commodities’ prices overshadow renewed optimism spurred by a stronger-than expected Aus GDP Q1 revision. Australia’s Q1 GDP q/q came in at +1.1% versus +0.8% expected and from +0.7% prior (revised higher from +0.6%).

While the Chinese equities are seen trading on a shaky ground, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite index now gains +0.10%, the CSI300 index trades muted around 3,170 points. Hong Kong Hang Seng trades marginally higher near 20,870 points.