MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan nudged up 0.1 per cent. The positive news from China also rubbed off on emerging stocks with an index rising 0.1 per cent.
However, expectations of more stimulus in China failed to lift the Australian currency, an asset that typically benefits from any positive news from Beijing, as data showed the economy slowed to a near standstill in the fourth quarter.The Australian economy expanded just 0.2 per cent in the fourth quarter, slower than the 0.3 per cent increase economists had forecast in a Reuters poll fueling a selloff in the currency.
In the bond markets, sentiment was a bit more cautious with longer-dated German bond yields edging lower a day before an ECB meeting where policymakers are expected to take a tentative step to shore up growth by signaling fresh stimulus to keep banks lending. U.S. crude oil futures were down 1 per cent at $56.01 per barrel after data from the American Petroleum Institute , an industry group, showed a larger-than-expected increase in U.S. crude stockpiles.
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