The markets in Tokyo were closed on Monday for the holidays. This leaves the Nikkei with a short trading week, bearing in mind it will be closed on Friday and the following Monday for more holidays. For the trading markets, Monday was a bad day with news from the US being the major contributor. In South Korea, the Kospi index fell by almost 4%. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell by 1%, due to exporters worries. News was the same in Taiwan with the Weighted Index falling by over 1.5% and in Singapore with the Straits Times falling by 1.3%. Australian and Malaysian markets also fell. The best news came from New Zealand with their NZ Top 40 ending flat for the day.
Tuesday saw the Nikkei back at work and the exporters worries hit them hard with feelings that a US economic recovery would be slow. The Nikkei fell by almost 0.5% for the day and there was some good news to be had. Japan's industrial production rose again in March thanks to exports of electronic machinery and cars. The Bank of Japan decided to retain its easy monetary policy for the time being. Elsewhere in the markets, the Kospi in South Korea gained as did the Hang Seng in Hong Kong. In Taiwan the Weighted Index fell slightly, as did markets in Australia and New Zealand. The Singapore Straits Times Index rose slightly.
Wednesday saw stock markets in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea closed for the holidays. Good news though for the Nikkei with thanks due to better news from the US and a fall in the Yen against the Dollar, promoting export. By close of play the Nikkei index was up by 0.5%. In keeping with the upward trend, markets in Australia and New Zealand also gained.
Thursday was a reversal of fortune for the Japanese exporters. The Yen firmed against the dollar, bringing exporters lower. Nevertheless, the Nikkei was resilient and ended the day at the same level it had started. This was also the case for New Zealand. Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and South Korean markets made gains for the day but markets in Taiwan fell due to losses in technology stocks.
Friday saw the Nikkei and markets in Tokyo closed for the holidays. The markets will also be closed on Monday. Elsewhere, markets were up in Taiwan and Hong Kong but down in South Korea. It was budget day in Singapore and the markets rose on the back of planned tax cuts.