Yesterday the Asian stock exchanges also suffered from orders in Japan which had fallen. Today they were supported by good news on Japanese GDP, which grew in the first quarter at a rate of 4,1% (and Singapore's growth was 10%, again annualised). Looking ahead to several weeks of limbo while waiting for the situation to clear up in Greece, markets are clinging to news on the real economy which, as these columns have long argued, is better than it seems. Also in America the data on new residential building sites and on industrial production went beyond expectations. And in any case, the minutes of the last Fed meeting revealed that the US central bank is ready to intervene with further measures if necessary.
The euro had no reason to improve but it has improved, perhaps also following Mario Draghi's declarations on the priority to be given to the integrity of the ECB's balance sheet: code words that suggest that the Bank will not compromise its financial situation for the sole purpose of keep Greece in the euro. The trouble is that if Greece were to go out and default, the assets of the ECB would in any case suffer a severe blow.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-17/asian-stocks-swing-between-gains-losses-on-japan-greece.html
