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Summary Trade was also nervous at the start of a crucial week that will see a Bank of Japan policy meeting.
Asian markets mostly rose on Monday following better-than-expected US growth data, although gains were tempered by corporate earnings concerns.Trade was also nervous at the start of a crucial week that will see a Bank of Japan policy meeting, the release of US jobs data and a series of talks in Europe on Greeces debt.Tokyo rose 0.24 percent by the break, Sydney added 0.51 percent and Seoul gained 0.46 percent, while Hong Kong and Shanghai were flat.The Commerce Department said Friday that the worlds number one economy grew at a 2.0 percent annual rate in the July-September quarter following the second quarters 1.3 percent expansion and up from the 1.9 percent forecast by most economists.A 13 percent jump in defence spending, which tends to be volatile, and better consumer spending and housing investment propelled the growth.However, the data did highlight flat business investment and shrinking exports.Wall Street was almost unmoved by the release as investors took in another set of disappointing earnings from the likes of Apple and Merck.The Dow ended up 0.03 percent, the S&P 500 lost 0.07 percent and the Nasdaq gained 0.06 percent.The New York Stock Exchange announced it will close its trading floor and make only electronic transactions, as Hurricane Sandy closed in on the US eastern seaboard.In consultation with other exchanges and market participants, NYSE Euronext (NYX) will close its markets on Monday, October 29, 2012 and pending confirmation on Tuesday, October 30, 2012, the market operator said in a statement.Joe Bracken, head of macro strategies at BT Investment Management in Sydney, suggested the impending hurricane could contribute to quiet trading in Asia.Youve got the US essentially closed, so there will be less of that US liquidity that drives a lot of international markets, he told Dow Jones Newswires.Eyes are now on the end on Tuesday of a two-day meeting of the Bank of Japan, with most investors hoping it will unveil anextension to its monetary easing policy.Expectations fresh cash will be pumped into the market have weighed on the yen, which softened slightly in early Asian trade.The dollar was trading at 79.72 yen against 79.62 yen late Friday in New York, while the euro bought 103.12 yen, compared with 103.00 yen.The European unit was also at $1.2932 from $1.2942.Also on the horizon are the release of manufacturing figures out of China and other Asian nations, while the US is to unveil its non-farm payrolls data on Friday, the last before the presidential election.And eurozone ministers are to hold a series of meetings on Greece to decide whether it has done enough to fix its debt problem to receive the latest tranche of crucial aid money.The ministers are also looking at a Greek request for the terms of its bailout to be extended by two years to 2016.Oil was down in Asia Monday, with New Yorks main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in December shedding 33 cents to $85.95 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for December delivery falling 46 cents to $109.09.Gold was at $1,714.30 at 0255 GMT compared with $1,703.18 late Friday.
