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CHINA'S FISCAL REVENUE GROWTH SLOWS IN MARCH.
The growth of China's government fiscal revenue slowed in March compared with the first two months of the year, finance ministry data showed on Wednesday, further weighing on a flagging recovery, already weakened by COVID flare-ups.
Last month's government fiscal revenue rose 3.42% year-on-year to 1.5834 trillion Yuan ($91.03 billion), slowing from a 10.5% growth in January-February, according to calculations based on the official data.
The country's fiscal spending growth accelerated to 10.4% year-on-year to 2.536 trillion Yuan in March, after a 7.0% growth in January-February.
For the entire quarter, fiscal revenue rose 8.6% while spending was up 8.3%.
For March, land sales revenues fell 22.84% from a year earlier to 403.6 billion Yuan, after a 29.5% plunge in the first two months, as cash-strapped developers grew cautious about land purchases.
OIL CLIMBS BUT TAKES A BREATHER IN TIGHT RANGE:
Oil prices traded higher but in a narrow range on Thursday, after being rocked earlier in the week by supply losses from Libya and a worrying outlook for demand as the International Monetary Fund cut its global growth forecasts.
Brent crude futures rose 55 cents, or 0.5%, to $107.35 a barrel at 0117 GMT, recouping losses from the previous session.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 41 cents, or 0.4%, to 102.60 a barrel, adding to a 19 cent gain in the previous session.
Analysts said market volatility is likely to pick up again soon, with the European Union still weighing a ban on Russian oil for its invasion of Ukraine.
Libya, a member of OPEC, on Wednesday said the country was losing more than 550,000 barrels per day of oil output due to blockades at major fields and export terminals.
Nasdaq Drags On Wall Street, Bond Yields Dip:
U.S. stocks ended in mixed territory on Wednesday as the tech-heavy Nasdaq was dragged down by bleak Netflix (NFLX.O) earnings with Netflix further losses, while bond yields dipped after a recent strong run.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) ended higher for the second straight day, the S&P 500 (.SPX) was flat, and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) fell sharply after Netflix reported it had lost subscribers for the first time in over a decade, casting gloom over the tech sector.
The Dow ended up 0.71%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.06% and the Nasdaq dropped 1.22%.
Investors got a fresh glimpse into the Federal Reserve's economic outlook on Wednesday when it issued its "Beige Book" of economic conditions from late February to early April. The central bank reported the economy expanded at a moderate pace during that time, though business reported issues with high inflation and worker shortages.
MOST ASIAN INDEXES GAIN GROUND ON U.S. YIELD DROP, BUT CHINESE STOCKS FALL:
Mainland China and Hong Kong stocks fell on Thursday, hurt by worries about the Chinese economy, but an overnight tumble in longer dated U.S. treasury yields lent support to other benchmark indexes.
A 0.78% drop for Hong Kong (.HSI) and 0.36% decline for blue chips in mainland China (.CSI300) pulled MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) 0.22% lower.
But share benchmarks in Australia (.AXJO) and Korea (.KS11) were up, while Japan's Nikkei (.N225) rose 0.81%. Nasdaq futures gained 0.6% and S&P500 futures advanced 0.4%.
The 10-year yield was last at 2.8455%, a whisker higher in Asia morning trade, but still bruised after falling overnight from as high as 2.981% in early trade on Wednesday.
Rob Carnell, head of research for Asia Pacific at ING said. "I think we're still heading towards 3% for 10 year treasuries, I think it was a little bit of profit taking,"
Carnell said the fall in bond yields may have provided some support for equities overnight, with the S&P500 broadly flat on the day despite an uglier picture for tech.
