Japan 225 Technical Analysis - Japan 225 Trading: 2020-04-10

Recent Japanese economic data were mixed. Current account surplus widened in February while machinery orders decline accelerated. The Tankan index for big manufacturers' sentiment fell to a seven-year low of -8 in the first quarter of 2020 from 0 in the prior period, though it still came above market expectations of -10. At the same time large firms indicated plans to rase capital expenditures by 1.8%, down from 6.8% in the previous quarter but above a 1.1% expected decline. And while machinery orders decline accelerated in March to 2.4% over year from 0.3% in February, the decline was smaller than feared. Meanwhile machine tool orders decline accelerated sharply next month to 40.8% over year from 29.6% in February. However, Japan’s government unveiled a monetary and fiscal stimulus package on April 7 to combat coronavirus impact. The total package is worth 108 trillion yen ($990 billion), equal to 20% of Japan’s gross domestic product, with direct fiscal spending amounting to 39.5 trillion yen, or about 7% of the GDP. These measures, together with monetary stimulus program by other developed economies including the US and European Union, buoyed investors’ confidence, leading to recovery in equity market.