Monday morning in Asia, the New Zealand dollar edged up against other major currencies as a rise in most Asian stocks increased demand for higher-yielding currencies.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 0.3%, China’s Shangai composite index soared 0.2%, New Zealand’s NZX 50 index rose 0.3%, South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.3% and Taiwan’s main index jumped 0.4%.
Malaysian, Indonesian and Singapore stocks are also trading higher today. But the Australian and the Japanese stock markets are trading lower.
The kiwi rose despite a dismal business confidence report. New Zealand’s Business Confidence fell to 48.2 points in May from 49.5 points in April, a report from the National Bank of New Zealand showed today.
The New Zealand dollar advanced against the Aussie in early Asian deals on Monday. As of now, the aussie-kiwi pair is worth 1.2456, compared to Friday’s closing value of 1.2477. On the upside, 1.240 is seen as the next target level for the kiwi.
During early Asian deals on Monday, the New Zealand dollar rose against the currencies of US and Japan. At present, the kiwi is worth 0.6827 against the greenback and 62.44 against the yen, up from last week’s close of 0.6790 and 61.71, respectively. If the kiwi gains further, it may likely target 0.686 against the greenback and 62.6 against the yen.
Japan’s industrial production index rose a seasonally adjusted 1.3% month-over-month to 96.0 in April, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a preliminary report. The average analyst projection was for an increase of 2.5%. A METI survey showed that manufacturers predict their output will rise 0.4% in May and expand 0.3% in June.
A separate report from Markit Economics showed that the Japan Nomura / JMMA manufacturing purchasing managers’ index stood at a seasonally adjusted 54.7 in May, up from 53.8 in the previous month.
After a brief slide, the New Zealand dollar strengthened against the euro in early Asian deals on Monday. The euro-kiwi pair is currently trading near last week’s close of 1.8076. The next upside target level for the NZ dollar is seen at 1.796.
Looking ahead, Japan’s housing starts report for April is due at 1:00 am ET.
The Euro-zone CPI estimate for May, M3 money supply data for April, economic, business, industrial and consumer confidence reports for May and the Italian preliminary CPI for May are expected in European session.
The U.S. financial markets are closed on account of the ‘Memorial Day’ holiday.