Japan's closely watched quarterly Tankan survey found business conditions improved more than expected. South Korea reported higher March export growth. House prices rose in New Zealand and Australian manufacturing expanded.
There was little market reaction because "investors appear to have already priced in" the spending and taxes, said Edward Moya of Oanda in a report. Investors are swinging between optimism that coronavirus vaccines will allow business to return to normal and unease about rising infections in the United States and some European countries. That has prompted some to reimpose travel curbs.In Japan, the Tankan index of business conditions for large manufacturers rose into positive territory for the first time since 2019.
On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 index rose 0.4% on Wednesday to 3,972.89. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.3% to 32,981.55. The Nasdaq composite climbed 1.5%, to 13,246.87.