TOKYO, Feb 15 (AFP): Tokyo investors will be combing through a string of Japanese and Chinese data next week, as the Bank of Japan (BoJ) kicks off a two-day policy meeting.
The barrage of figures, including fourth-quarter GDP for Japan and Chinese manufacturing data, come after weak US retail sales sparked more questions about the state of the world's largest economy.
That uncertainty could keep jittery investors on the sidelines, dealers said.
"Stocks could very well stay in an extended consolidation phase" after the soft US data, said Tachibana Securities market analyst Kenichi Hirano.
Investors will also watch the BoJ's policy board meeting, followed by a Tuesday press conference by governor Haruhiko Kuroda.
Japan is then set to release trade figures later in the week which are expected to show another yawning deficit as the country's post-Fukushima energy imports soar.
"If this leads to yen selling, it might encourage stock buying," Daiwa Securities said in a client note.
A weaker yen is a plus for shares of Japanese exporters as it boosts their profitability.
Also on investors' radar screens is the HSBC purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China, to be released Thursday, as markets look to gauge the health of the Asia's biggest economy.
The January figures showed Chinese manufacturing contracted for the first time in six months.
"Caution is needed for possibility of increasing worries about slowdown of China and downward pressure for emerging market currencies," Daiwa said.
Tokyo investors look to Japan, China data next week
FE Team | Published: February 16, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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