Asian stocks mostly higher in lethargic trade; Nikkei up 0.20%

Most Asian bourses traded higher Tuesday amid some key data points, though trading was somewhat sluggish. 

In Asian trading Tuesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.20% despiteUSD/JPY trading to the downside. Earlier, the Bank of Japan said prices of domestic corporate goods in Japan rose 0.3% in April, easily topping forecasts that called for a 0.1% increase. On a year-over-year basis, prices were flat, but that was better than the expected decline of 0.2%. 

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.16%, but the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.66% a day after data showed that industrial production in China rose 9.3% in April, below expectations for a 9.5% increase and following an 8.9% rise the previous month. 

Separate data showed that retail sales in China increased by 12.8% in April, in line with expectations. Another report showed China’s oil demand slowed a bit in April. The country is the world’s second-largest oil consumer behind the U.S. 

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.26%. Later Tuesday, Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan is set to deliver remarks about the country’s inability to return to a budget surplus. Swan has previously cited the strong Aussie as a reason for missing out on surplus expectations, but that excuse may be start to wear thin given the Aussie’s recent weakness. 

New Zealand’s NZSE 50 fell 0.12% even after Statistics New Zealand said real retail sales there rose 0.5% in the first quarter compared with a fourth-quarter gain of 1.9%. Including price changes, New Zealand retail sales rose 0.7%, but economists expected an increase of 1.1%. 

South Korea’s Kospi jumped 0.99% to be the region’s best performer as traders seemed compelled one of Asia’s laggard markets in 2013. 

Singapore’s Straits Times Index rose 0.39% while S&P 500 futures added 0.12% a day after the benchmark U.S. index finished little changed.