|
And Japanese data released Monday morning reminded market participants why so many strategists remain bullish on the yen's medium term prospects against the dollar even after its recent correction. Japan's current account surplus for the fiscal year ended March 31 rose 29 percent to a record 17.27 trillion yen, although its monthly surplus for March was slightly below consensus estimates.
-------------------------
"Market sentiment has been worsening in the past few weeks, almost day by day," said Yoshihiko Kosuga, an equities deputy general manager at Mizuho Investors Securities.
"On top of the fears about a U.S. or Chinese rate hike, bearish investors have also started talking about the possibility of a Japanese economic slowdown after last week's poor machinery orders data...and such negative talk further fuelled selling."
Still, some analysts said Japanese stocks had been oversold in the past few weeks and if the GDP data beat expectations, that could be the cue for investors to return to the Tokyo market.
The GDP data will be released at 8:50 a.m. (2350 GMT).
Takashi Miyazaki, a senior strategist at UFJ Partners Asset Management, said investors have been overreacting to the prospects of higher interest rates in the United States and China.
"Considering corporate earnings at home, we are seeing little negative news...we suspect the market is just undergoing a correction after over-confidence on the economy had boosted the market too much," he said.
Miyazaki added that today's market level could be a good buying opportunity for mid- and long-term
|