Asian stocks sluggish before more rate cues; Chinese markets gain

Investing.com– Most Asian stocks moved in a flat-to-low range on Thursday amid a dearth of direct trading cues and as markets awaited more comments from Federal Reserve officials and key U.S. inflation data in the coming days.

Chinese markets were among the few gainers for the day, rising ahead of key trade data for April that is expected to show some recovery in trading activity. 

Regional markets took few cues from a middling overnight close on Wall Street, as a string of Fed officials warned that interest rates will remain higher for longer. U.S. stock index futures were flat in Asian trade. 

Chinese stocks rise, trade data awaited 

China’s and indexes rose about 0.5% each on Thursday, sticking close to recent six and seven-month highs after an extended rebound over the past three months.

Gains in mainland stocks also drove up Hong Kong’s index, which rose 0.6%. 

Recent buying into Chinese markets was fueled by a mix of bargain hunting, optimism over some stimulus measures from Beijing, and hopes that Asia’s biggest economy will pick up pace in 2024 after an underwhelming 2023. 

To this end, focus was on upcoming trade data from the country for more insight into its key . The reading also comes after China’s fell sharply in March. 

Broader Asian markets were mixed. Japan’s rose 0.3% as weak for March pushed up expectations that the Bank of Japan will have limited headroom to tighten monetary policy.

The Nikkei also shrugged off losses in Toyota Motor (TYO:) (NYSE:) , which fell 0.7% on a disappointing earnings outlook for the current fiscal year, even as it clocked stellar earnings for fiscal 2024. 

SoftBank Group Corp. (TYO:) fell 1.7% after its British chip designing unit Arm Holdings (NASDAQ:) offered an underwhelming annual earnings forecast, indicating that demand from artificial intelligence may not be as strong as initially expected.

Australia’s sank 0.7%, as heavyweight mining stocks were weighed down by weakness in commodity prices. South Korea’s shed 0.3%, while futures for India’s index pointed to a largely muted open, amid continued uncertainty over India’s 2024 general elections. 

Fed speakers, US inflation data on tap

More Fed officials are set to speak later on Thursday and Friday, after several officials warned that week that U.S. rates were likely to remain high for longer. 

is set to speak later on Thursday, while will speak on Friday.

Beyond the Fed speakers, key data for April is due next week. Increased insight into U.S. rates is likely to drive the leg of movement for stock markets.