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| Nikkei lower as Japanese unemployment rate rises | Nikkei lower as Japanese unemployment rate rises |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Japan's Nikkei 225 opened 0.8% lower on Tuesday following a raft of official data that dented investor sentiment. | Japan's Nikkei 225 opened 0.8% lower on Tuesday following a raft of official data that dented investor sentiment. |
| One of the first numbers out showed Japan's jobless rate rose slightly to 3.3% in February, up from 3.2% in January, despite labour demand remaining at the highest level in two decades. | One of the first numbers out showed Japan's jobless rate rose slightly to 3.3% in February, up from 3.2% in January, despite labour demand remaining at the highest level in two decades. |
| The unemployment rate had been expected to remain unchanged at 3.2%. | The unemployment rate had been expected to remain unchanged at 3.2%. |
| The Nikkei later recovered slightly to be down 0.4% to 17,074.77 points. | |
| Analysts said Japan could see a fall in the jobless rate in the coming months. | Analysts said Japan could see a fall in the jobless rate in the coming months. |
| "[Japan's] job-to-applicant suggests that the unemployment rate could fall below 3% in coming months even though the ratio held steady at 1.28 last month," said economist Marcel Thieliant. | |
| Other official numbers released on Tuesday showed that household spending rose 1.2% in February compared with the same month last year, against expectations for a decline of 1.5%. | Other official numbers released on Tuesday showed that household spending rose 1.2% in February compared with the same month last year, against expectations for a decline of 1.5%. |
| Retail sales rose 0.5% in February against expectations for a year on year rise of 1.7% | Retail sales rose 0.5% in February against expectations for a year on year rise of 1.7% |
| In Australia, markets opened lower after the extended Easter weekend. | |
| Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.8% to 5,043.4 points after lunch. | |
| In China, the Hang Seng index also opened and was flat in morning trade, down just 0.04% to 20,334.96. | |
| The Shanghai Composite was down 0.24% to 2,950.45. | |
| Meanwhile, South Korea's benchmark Kospi index was the one bright spot in the region, up 0.34% to 1,988.68 points. |