Morning MoneyBeat Asia: U.S. Stocks Drop As GDP Comes in Weak

        By Paul Vigna
        Market Snap: At the New York close: S&P 500 down 0.4% at 2106.85 DJIA down 0.4% at 18035.53. Nasdaq Comp down 0.6% at 5023.64. Treasury yields rose; 10-year at 2.035%. Nymex crude oil up 2.7% at $58.58. Gold down 0.3% at $1,209.80/ounce.
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        How We Got Here: U.S. stocks fell, after first-quarter GDP came in far weaker than anybody expected, and after the Fed left an increase in rates on the table for the months ahead.
        Truth be told, the market was looking weak before either the GDP report or Fed statement, which speaks to the pattern of rallies being followed by selloffs, being followed by rallies, being followed by, well, you get the picture. We won't be convinced that pattern has been broken until we see a real breakout, one way or the other.
        But the economic news was downbeat all the same. The world's largest economy came to a virtual standstill in the first quarter. Consumer spending was down, business spending was down. Maybe it's just like last year, when the first quarter was awful and the rest of the year was a snap back. Even if that is the case, it still means the economy's going to have to churn that much harder just to get back to average, and it puts the U.S. in the hole again to start the year.
        Coming Up: Japan reports March's preliminary industrial production data on Thursday, which is expected to show a decline of 2.3% compared to a 3.4% decline in February.. The industrial output data have lately flashed some worrying signals for the government of Prime Minister Abe. Late last year, there were encouraging hints that factory output was being boosted by "Abenomics," but the latest string of data are calling those gains into question.
        What You Missed Overnight
        U.S. Economic Growth Nearly Stalls Out The U.S. economy slowed to a crawl at the start of the year as businesses slashed investment, exports tumbled and consumers showed signs of caution, marking a return to the uneven growth that has been a hallmark of the nearly six-year economic expansion.
        Fed Sees Slowdown as Transitory Federal Reserve officials attributed the economy's sharp first-quarter slowdown to transitory factors, in effect signaling an increase in short-term interest rates remains on the table for the months ahead although the timing has become more uncertain.
        Abe Calls for Closer U.S. Ties Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for closer ties between the U.S. and Japan, sealed by a proposed Pacific trade pact, in an address to U.S. lawmakers deeply divided over whether to back broader trade.
        U.S. Stocks Drop on GDP, Fed U.S. stocks held onto their losses Wednesday after a statement from the Federal Reserve signaled that interest-rate increases are still possible in the coming months, though the timing remains uncertain.
        From The Wall Street Journal Asia
        China's Big Banks Show Weak Profit Growth Amid Slower Economic Growth Profits at all four of China's major state banks grew by less than 2% in the first quarter, an abrupt slowdown that could be a signal that problems in China's economy are starting to take a toll on the financial system.
        Emerging Markets Rally, for Now At the start of the year, the accepted strategy for investing in emerging markets could be summed up in one word--don't. But developing-country stocks have surged nearly 13% in the past eight weeks, largely because the demon that was stalking them, the arrival of higher U.S. interest rates, has likely been pushed back.
        Samsung Says Galaxy S6 Sales Have Edge Samsung Electronics Co. said its latest flagship phone, the Galaxy S6, is on pace to outsell last year's model, in closely watched comments that underscore just how much is riding on the success of the new handset.
        Indonesia Executions Strain Ties Overseas, Boost Widodo at Home Indonesia's execution of seven foreign drug convicts early Wednesday sparked reproach from world leaders, but any repercussions are unlikely to have a lasting impact on international relations or the country's economy.
        From MoneyBeat
        Hedge Funds Lead Shift in Dollar Sentiment Betting that the dollar will keep pushing higher against major currencies has lost its allure. In recent weeks hedge funds that piled into bets that the dollar was going to climb against the euro are now reducing their euro shorts, while aggregate bets that the euro will start climbing back are increasing.
        For Twitter, Hashtag #honeymoonisover That little blue bird may be ubiquitous in the media world now. You see it all the time, on websites, on television, in advertising. But ubiquity has not translated into profitability, not yet at least, and Twitter Inc.'sTWTR -9.51% investors are starting to get tired of that latter fact.
        China Construction Bank Looks to Switzerland China Construction Bank has officially applied for a banking license in Switzerland, a widely-anticipated move that follows on efforts by the Alpine country to become an international trading hub for the Chinese currency.
        Super Mario Unblocks Europe's Credit Pipes Could it be that the eurozone's credit blockage is finally being cleared? The latest money supply and lending data for the single currency region suggest that at long last easy money is starting to flow from the European Central Bank to households and small firms.
        (END) Dow Jones Newswires

        April 29, 2015 18:20 ET (22:20 GMT)

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