Investors responded to contrasting cues on Tuesday with positive data and negative bets affecting the mood on trading floors
Global markets were subdued for the Easter break but Tokyo’s benchmark bourse still gained to cap a bumper fiscal year
Japan’s plunging currency and the threat of BoJ intervention sent Tokyo’s soaraway benchmark downwards
Japan’s currency slumped to a 34-year low on Wednesday while China’s yuan was also feeling the strain
Investors were distracted by China’s continuing economic struggles and looming US inflation figures
Traders are on edge this week ahead of US inflation data that could scupper hopes for lower interest rates sometime soon
China and Japan’s currencies were both under pressure on Friday, panicking investors and central banks across the region
The US Fed signalled it was ready to reverse on rates in the coming months, lifting sentiment across the region
There was an air of caution on Asia’s trading floors ahead of the US Fed’s latest update and news on the prospects for rate cuts any time soon
The Bank of Japan shifted away from years of ultra-easy monetary policy lifting the Nikkei past the 40,000 mark but China’s property problems weighed elsewhere
Several central banks meet this week though most eyes will be on Japan where the BoJ is widely tipped to end eight years of negative interest rates
Stocks across the region slipped into the red with investors in cautious mood ahead of key decisions out of Beijing and Tokyo