in july 2007 the nikkei recovered to the 18,000 mark. but those gains were soon wiped out as concern spread over the issue of subprime mortgages in the u.s. then lehman brothers failed in 2008 pushing the nikkei downward. it tumbled below 7,000, hitting its lowest level in 26 years. the key index stayed weak due to the effects of the strong yen along with earthquake and tsunami in 2011. in late 2012 prime minister shinzo abe returned to power. some foreign investors began buying japanese stocks on expectations that his abenomics policy would get the economy moving. the bank of japan's massive monetary easing in april 2013 and additional easing in october 2014 weakened the yen. that helped improve the earnings of exporters and pushed up their stock prices. the nikkei 225 climbed back to 16,000 at the end of 2013 and to 18,000 in 2014. share prices have continued to rise this year as japanese companies report higher earnings and investors expect the u.s. economy to improve. >> it has come to my attention during that aiib story we had a wro

the benchmark nikkei index touched the 20,000 level today. the first time it's been that high in 15 years. gene otani from the biz desk has more. gene tell us what's got everyone so excited. >> well the key word is touched. because it ended a fraction lower for the day. some investors seem comfortable with corporate japan finally turning a corner. they're buying up shares on expectations that companies will be posting stronger earnings this year. the nikkei index has been inching steadily closer to the 20,000 mark in recent weeks and it finally crossed over today, soon after the markets opened. it didn't stay there long though. some investors started selling shares. that caused the index to close down 0.15% in 19,907 ending three days of gains. stock dealers at a major securities firm in tokyo let out a loud cheer when the nikkei hit the 20,000 mark. [ applause ] the chief for global equity trading says witnessing the index reach its highest point in 15 years left him optimistic. >> translator: many participants including foreign investors, a

hopes are now high the nikkei may soon hit the key 20,000 level.i uchida joins us from our business desk. you have all the details. what's happening in the markets? >> there's quite a lot happening in the markets. a lot of it looks to be in favor of stocks catherine. both domestic and foreign investors seem to have a lot of confidence in the japanese economy. this positive sentiment has been pushing up stock prices and on wednesday the nikkei rose to the highest level in 15 years. there are, though still some uncertainties, and some analysts say stock prices are too high. and of course the u.s. markets will have an impact on tokyo. overnight we saw rebound on wall street after the release of the minutes from the u.s. federal reserve's latest meeting. the dow jones industrial average rising more than a tenth of a percent, ending above 17,900. tech-heavy nasdaq closing in at 4,950, up .8%. so let's see how investors here are reacting to all this. ramin mellegard standing by at the tokyo stock exchange. good morning, ramin. what are you seeing so far?

the benchmark nikkei index touched the 20,000 level for first time in 15 years. they're buying up shares on expectations that companies will be posting stronger earnings. the nikkei has been inching steadily closer to the 20,000 mark in recent weeks and it finally crossed over on friday soon after the markets opened. it didn't stay there for long show. book profits and that caused it to close down 0.15% at 19907 ending three days of gains. we asked market analysts for their views on the stock rally. >> translator: share prices are rising on improvements in corporate performance and the economy. i think investors are optimistic. they believe companies can create a virtuous economic cycle. better performance will lead to more capital investment and rising wages. these will again expand their earnings. >> buko says he expects the nikkei to keep climbing creating more investment and benefiting the real economy. others are less optimistic and warning the market may be overheating. >> translator: based on recent economic data i don't see any factors that explain such a

let's look at the nikkei and the topix. a mixed picture.he nikkei lower, the topix just a little bit in the positive. the nikkei ended on wednesday lower for a second time this week. but the losses have welcome been negligible. and because of the weaker yen and a lot of structural changes made by japanese companies in the last quarter and fiscal year. we should also watch out for a few speed bumps and that's really relating to earnings in the u.s. bank of america came out with less than spectacular -- let's call it that way -- earnings and in the chip circuit ersandisk dropped in after hour tradings. >> and the ecb, they left rates unchanged wednesday but we saw volatility in the currency markets. what can you tell us about that? >> ups and down theres. the euro gained against the dollar after the weaker numbers in the u.s. but traders resold the euro on continued quantitative easing measures set by the ecb. it is now trading higher after the ecb president mario draghi's comments on the european economy. and the dollar is trading lower agai

let's have a look at the opening levels for the nikkei and toppism. we'll have a look at how the nikkei traded in 2014. 19,108, broader topics trading lower as well. the business sentiments follow some weak data out of japan of late. many are hoping for further stimulus measures to invigorate the economy. that said let's break down the numbers for the nikkei for the last year. up 10% from the last three months, and it was actually up nearly 30% overall in the fiscal year, that just ended in march. not bad going, according to analysts who point out that corporate earnings may be the silver lining in the clouds that we've seen so to speak, in some of the data recently out of japan, and also long term interest rates hit a record low of 0.15%. low mortgage rates also helping the real economy. the weaker yen has really helped as well as aggressive cost-cutting measures in the corporate sector which has fueled optimism for domestic investors and overseas investors who poured money into japanese thoughts. >> how is the weaker yen affecting exporters and firm

for april 17th and the nikkei and the topix are down there half a percent for the nikkei. and it's going to be guided by the factors which drove down stocks which you mentioned in europe and the u.s. the main one being the heightened concerned over a greece exit from the eurozone especially after comments from the imf chief in washington that a delay by degrees in debt payments would not be acceptable. the unexpected rise in weekly unemployment data caused the dollar to fall. that may weigh on exporters fed official saying while there isn't a dangerous misalignment in rate expectations, weak data so far out of the u.s. has heightened uncertainty about the timing of a fed rate hike. that said there is a glimmer of hope. we had earnings from two of the biggest banks in the u.s. from the financial sector goldman sachs and citigroup with their strongest results since 2008. the financial sector is look positive. >> you mentioned lagarde's comments. how are bonds and currencies moving? >> let's start with greek bonds. the notes really lost their attraction for investors. we saw

maybe we will see 20,000 close today on the nikkei.hanks, steve. >> coming up next, where were ueues?e ♪ >> welcome back. you're watching "first up." that apple watch got a response. smaller than usual queues marked the launch around the world. 14 people lining up outside apple's beijing store. orders made their delivery dates. the watch officially goes on sale april 24. >> curious. we spoke to some teen customers after the first hands-on with the device. here are their reactions. >> very easy to use. a good feel to it. >> i was impressed. >> very high quality. >> the perfect size. not too big. not too small. >> i'm a big apple fan. i like a good looking, functional product. i'm a tech geek. my coworkers expect i have the newest and the latest. they will look at me and be disappointed. >> i don't think i need it. >> i think it is a major want and not a need. >> probably not, but i'm going to get it. yes. i think it will be a success. low price watches will be a success. >> first orders are always heavy. >> i think it will be up there.

for the nikkei.brokerages along with oil producers gaining in the session today. let's look at some of the key movers on the nikkei right now. it was the trade data that powered them ahead that gave investors reasons to buy into names like sony financial, up nearly 7% today. swinging to their way for the first time since 2012. the general expectation is that profits in japan will remain on pace to record double-digit gains. in terms of the impact to begin -- to the yen, this is what we are seeing. there is a little change in the session but it gives more optimism to investors. the yen printing at 119 point 25 levels. not a huge strengthening from yesterday at 119.67. a big day in terms of trade number, economists predict that japan will swing back to a deficit position in the april data. mark: thanks a lot. breaking news. anna: this from rolls-royce. john rishton will be the chief executive. john rishton has decided to retire as chief executive on the second of july, just a few months off from now. h

the nikkei enjoyed a pretty dramatic recovery on thursday surging to close up nearly 1 1/2%.nalysts pointing out the public pension funds may have had a hand in helping propping up stocks. now, investors may hold back a touch today ahead of the key u.s. jobs data which will be released even though markets are going to be closed in the u.s. for good friday. however, there's going to be a 45-minute window of opportunity in the futures market actually on friday morning in the u.s. however, a lot of analysts saying that global market reaction on a monday will probably paint a truer picture. so all in all, we may not see major moves today, although we're in the positive. ai. >> which shares in particular should we be on the lookout for today? >> well, as we've been covering of course 7-eleven holdings the operator of 7-eleven convenience stores in japan and the biggest retailer, that may be a bit of a focus. it's looking to target a fifth year of record operating profits. so i'll track the share price action there. also japanese auto makers may be a bit of a focus after steady sal

and the nikkei well above 20,000. back to you. >> thanks a lot for that update. >>> japanese officials are trying to attract investment by chinese companies. they have held a seminar at japan's embassy in beijing. it's part of a growth strategy which foresees doubling the amount of foreign investment in japan by 2020. about 150 business people attended. they were briefed on government efforts to lower the effective corporate tax rate. other incentives include making it easier to land private jets at local airports in japan. >> translator: it's informative, because my company is looking for a partner in japan in the medical sector. >> translator: we want chinese executives to know that the japanese government welcomes their direct investment. >> the amount of direct investment from china has been smaller than that from the united states or south korea. officials are hoping more chinese companies will look to the japanese market as their operations become increasingly global. >>> the space travel business is rapidly gro

let's look at the opening levels for the nikkei and topix. the trade balance thaw just mentioned is back in black, and the nikkei is back above 20,000. look at that. so up 0.6%. the nikkei actually rallied on tuesday as well on the back of a weaker yen, helping to fwoost a lot of exporters. with he had followed panasonic and a lot of the auto sectors and back above 20,000 so that bodes pretty well. the topix also trading above 1,600 for the first time since november 2000. foreign as well as domestic funds placing a lot of buy orders according to analysts as low bond yields force investors to look for higher returns. concerns about greece always in the background holding back a little bit a sentiment and that was pretty evidence with greek stocks as the key index fell over 3%. also the greek two-year bond yields spiking to just above 30% and the benchmark ten-year greek bond also the yield is rising and the two-year actually hitting a two-year high beg your pardon of 13%. some investors seem to think there's a real possibility of a greek exit

the nikkei 225 is up fractionally right now. earlier, it touched 20,006 the highest and some 15 years. that has pulled back a little bit and overall, asia is mostly in the green -- not the kind of gains we have seen over the last few days. in japan, we can see some of the biggest movers, including aon. it is soaring 5.5%. it beat estimates. not on that list is the biggest awaited stock, fast retailing. the owner of the clothing stores -- that company is reporting, boosting it profits by 20% because of better than expected sales, not only in japan but abroad. this stock, fast retailing, is above 50,000. it is the most heavily weighted stock in the nikkei. that is also helping that index creep up just fractionally. elsewhere, the big story has been the hong kong and shanghai hong kong connect all those mainland investors pouring into hong kong over the last week. that market in hong kong is upset 10.5% over those seven sessions. as you can see, the index is up just .5% after that big gain. perhaps a little bit of enthusiasm coming

nikkei traders returning from the lunch break and there it is back into action.tually opened lower. magic red pen. it's since recovered gradually. so quite a significant recovery from the morning's low. the stocks we're watching out for in japan the yen, and you can see the car makers are down toyota, mazda. honda, a slight gain and toshe i shall -- toshiba, we pointed out, accounting yisheds there maybe. and cubota and toto two other exexporters. yamaha and also yahoo japan. quite a mixed picture for japan. i'll leave you with the map if i can today. the magic map. markets are closed for china, new zealand, taiwan and open as you see, the nikkei in japan is low, but off the low today. kospi also seeing gains on the idea that they may not be raising rates in the u.s. because of the u.s. jobs market being quite weak. volumes are really very low because of the easter weekend. rishaad: thanks, john. property stocks are increasingly attractive. let's bring in our correspondent has linda amin. they say what must go up must come down. valid in indonesia's case? haslind

the nikkei opened lower.rta, a little bit of a downturn. , even though the dollar being weak, there is an equally strong in. look at the overall pie chart from japan. industrial suffering the most. look at this quickly. you can see that construction stocks are down. not one is rising. exporting also hard on the economy. kobayahsi, a stronger yen weighing on that. rishaad: getting to our top stories this easter monday. it is one of the top movers in french quarter operating profits handily beating expectations. these numbers would be a significant surprise. zeb: investigators are anticipating that when the company reported earnings tomorrow. they are rising today in seoul, a nice pop for samsung. samsung, according to the korean economic daily, may report a 5% increase in quarter on quarter operating profit. that could be well ahead of what analysts expected. consensus for the first quarter, operating profit of 3.2% increase. that would be on the order of 5.2 9 trillion yuan, about 5 billion u.s. dollars. the

the nikkei breaking 20,000 for the first time in 15 years. the time to load up your plate with the ration-flavored -- asian-flavored stocks? we bring in our panel, gary b. smith, steve loeb and bob rice of tangent capital. gary, why not? the nikkei breaks 20,000 for the first time, isn't it look out above? >> well, here's my, here's my concern, liz. most people out there, including myself, aren't really experts on the japanese market or the nikkei. my gosh, i'm barely an expert on our market. i think if you don't understand another, a foreign country or another market, at the minimum you should give your money to someone that does or completely stay out of it. liz: or you know, stephen, that abenomics involves keeping rates ridiculously low, making sure the japanese stocks benefit from a weaker currency. isn't that enough to know? >> yes, liz, it is. there's so many reasons why i think ace ya is a very, very good -- asia is a very, very good place to be. i think there's a tremendous rotation from west to east in this world, unfortunately. the

the nikkei was flat on monday. also a negative sentiment with regards to growth in china as trade figures showed exports fell 15% in march from a year earlier in china. that underscored the global concerns for growth in china but it's there is an old market saying that bad news is good news. that is playing into the markets here and analysts suggesting that investors are encouraged because they may get stimulus measures coming from china. if you look at the gains from the hang seng you are look at the graph right now. it has risen 17% right now. with the market capitalization setting a new record at $4 trillion u.s. that is beigea big move. >> the dollar is steady. what can you tell us there? >> hesitation on the dollar as well. it's holding just below 120 yen. and analysts say there may be concern about the strength of the dollar. investors are going to be focused on earnings forecasts or outlooks. many big names are due with earnings this week. there is also going to be big data releases. retail sales and produce

for the week the nikkei 225 was down 1.2% after hitting 20,000 last friday. moving on to chinese markets shanghai composite climbed more than 2% hitting 4287. analysts say investors expect the government to take further stimulus measures. the index has posted seven straight weeks of gains. on to australia. sidney fell from yesterday's gain. it dropped 1.17% closing at 5877. some market players sold mining shares on falling iron and ore prices. in other markets. hong kong was down 0.3%. hang seng index rose. seoul ended up 0.17 stretching its winning streak six days. indonesia, down by .2 of 1%. >>> government officials believe japanese people are becoming more inclined to loosen their purse strings. they say consumer sentiment improved in march for the fourth straight month. the consumer confidence index for march stood at 41.7. that's up from the previous month. the index is based on a monthly cabinet office survey of 8400 households of two or more people. officials say improvements is attributed to pay raises as well as the improving job market. the cabinet

now, the nikkei just a quick reminder closed tuesday at its highest level in nearly two weeks, we're going higher still yet. many are really waiting to hear anything that may come out of the bank of japan meeting which wraps up later today. the dollars regain the strength after some of the declines that we saw last week it could be a boost for exporters as well. we may also see further action in the dollar later today. however, big focus on energy and wti crude oil prices volatility still remains there, the recent trend has been upward. however, the wti crude fell a touch after the actual markets closed, the futures markets after the american petroleum institute, said inventories for the past week shot up more than had been expected. we saw a little bit of a drop there. all right. >> ramin let's go back to that rally, the dollars rally. the dent in u.s. stocks overnight. >> that has been a big focus, right now it's 12 # 0 to 129.30. that compares to the levels we saw last week. we have seen it pop higher in the dollar. it rose against the euro coming up on the screen right now. trade

let's see how that is effecting the nikkei and topix for wednesday april 15th. both down the negative of a a .25%. and the nikkei ended flat on tuesday, pretty similar to trading monday as well. investors really seem to be reluctant to take that next step after the recent record gains we've seen. exporters also may be in for a little bit of a negative sentiment as we've seen the dollar falling against the yen. it is now at the mid to lower 119 yen levels. retail sales and imf cut in growth forecast for the u.s. economy that you also mentioned ai, also pushing the dollar lower. the euro edged up against the dollar despite concerns about greece and the yen from two year lows marked yesterday. the singapore dollar interestingly rose against the u.s. dollar as the monetary authority in singapore kept its policy steady yesterday. it also added gdp was on tract to go 2 to 4% this year. >> and looking at bond markets, yields also seem to be effected by the retail sales data. what can you tell us there. >> all the way from the two-year note to the ten-year note bond new

back to you. >> ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange where the nikkei and the topix are trading in the negative this morning. >>> small communities without high profile attractions often find it hard to draw attention from tourists from people in bungotakada are trying to change that in an unconventional way. they are focusing on foreign visitors by turning back the clock. nhk world's keiko aso reports. >> reporter: a delegation from south korea is value visiting bungotakada. they came to study the city, which has been remodelled to look like a town during the economic boom of the 1950s. the visitors are experiencing how japanese lived and played in the post-war years. residents in bungotakada have worked hard to recreate this period of history. as part of the town remodelling, owners of this pharmacy removed a sign board, revealing the original design. they also replaced aluminum window frames with old style wooden ones. from old shops to vintage cars the makeover is pulling in tourists from across the country. but more than ten years after the community revival began, the flow

let's have a look at how the opening levels here for the nikkei and the topix are affected. friday april 24th. both marginally in the negative. and the nikkei maintaining that 20,000 level also closing at that level yesterday despite manufacturing data out of china dipping to a one-year low. leading investors to anticipate there might be further economic stimulus measures. we'll see how japanese rivals today will be affected by earnings from caterpillar and its expected to report a surge in profits and sales. earnings outlooks for japan will be coming thick and fast in the coming weeks and the dip in crude oil prices and commodity prices may effect negatively some of the energy related sector stocks. but the weakening yen is expected to show a record surge in profits for a lot of the exporters as well. that's going to be interesting coming up. >> and looks like the dollar dipped a touch. what happened there? >> we had the weekly jobless claims data which rose and showed more people applying for unemployment benefits and new home sales fell 11.4% from a year earlier. that dra

still over the month of april the nikkei average finished up 1.6%. investors also delivered losses to other markets in the region. the shanghai kpom possiblecomposite shed 0.78 prsz. but it's ahead for the month. sidney was down more than 0.83% to list lowest close since mid-february. the main index posted its biggest monthly loss for the year and after hitting a seven year high. in other markets of asia-pacific region hong kong did 0.94% on profit taking but ahead for the month climbing 13%. seoul slipped 0.72%. and a look at indonesian stocks continued to fall ending the day down by almost .4 of a percent. executives at sony say they are seeing a turn around in their business. they expect the group's net balance in fiscal 2015 to be in the black for the first time in three years. executives are forecasting a net profit of about $1.2 billion for the year. they released figures for fiscal 2014. they say operating profits more than doubled from the previous year to about $580 million. sony had success in stream lining its television business. that div

let's see,000 nikkei and topix are doing. nikkei yesterday traded below 19,000. for manufacturers it sparked a little bit of profit taking but seeing a bounce back from those levels right now. today, also however, there might be a little bit of negative sentiment in the tech sector. micron technologies reported weaker earnings forecast. analysts say the outlook for chip makers is a strong barometer for the pc sector and related sectors. so keep a close eye on those areas. one bright spot may come from the auto sector. u.s. auto sales come out at the beginning of every month. sales figures beat estimates. we'll watch out for the likes of to it and nissan which had pretty good numbers. >>> stronger dollar. clearly helping these exporters. yen has been moving in a tight range this week ahead of that main u.s. jobs report tomorrow. what can you tell us? >> exactly. right now let's have a look at the $yen. 119.58-60. no major change. dollar is like try to remain strong despite the sluggish private sector jobs figures but economists remain bullish on the overall growth

they're waiting to see if and when the nikkei will break through the 20,000 mark. gene otani has details on that and much more. >> we're just short of that 20,000 mark today in tokyo. still some investors had reason to be upbeat after the market closed out the day at a fresh 15-year high. the nikkei average extended its winning streak into a third day, climbing 0.75% to 19,937. analysts say many people expect corporate earnings to grow and want to get a slice of the action. they also point to a report that shows foreign investors have been buying up more japanese shares. they say that's lifted sentiment across the market. another focus today is hong kong. the hang seng index extended its games. it jumped 2.7% at 26,944 hitting a fresh seven-year high. market watchers say investors in mainland china are targeting cheaper hong kong shares after a rally in shanghai's talks. the composite fell by 0.93%, snapping five days of gains. investors took profits after the index hit a fresh seven-year high on wednesday. in other markets in the region, sydney fell .48% following

just a remind dwrer nikkei despite ending monday down by 37 points -- i was going to say percent.t had been down nearly 200 points before that. so that markets did recover a touch giving investors here some confidence heading into this week. also as you mentioned there the dollar has somewhat rebounded and that should add some positive sentiment as well for exporters. also we need to keep an eye on oil-related shares. we saw another 5% gain in wti crude in new york on monday boosting energy sector shares. as a result analysts believe there may be growing demand especially in the asia region. i'll be watching out for petrochemical firms, refiners, oil and gas field developers as well as of course trading companies which use a lot of commodities in their business. in a similar context japan, as you're going to be covering ai is also look at alternate energy sources as well. ai. >> exactly. we will be covering the government's energy targets this morning. but first, what about currencies? what can you tell us about the dollar? >> yeah we've seen a slight pop higher in the dollar-yen.

the nikkei 225 earlier today.reaking through that 20,000 level for the first time in 50 years but we're now off those levels. how are the bond markets? >> we continue to see new lows being hit on some of the yields. the five year you were talking about earlier in france are going negative for the first time. we're looking at yields somewhere in the ree jn of .16% when it comes to the ten year in germany. 10-year-old italian around 1.25% as well. looking at some of the big moves we've had in euro dollar trade. we didn't make it to levels we've seen here recently. last year we had a print of 104 when it comes to the euro. today we're in the region of 106. 10603 here. lower by .5% and the pound against the dollar off by .5% too. when it comes to what is seen also in the pound worth noting that we have indeed seen new five year lows hit in the pound against the dollar in this morning's trade. with a look at what's taking place in oil we've seen oil stabilizing as of late and brent trading around $56 barrel. wti crude

again the nikkei closing at a 15 year high. that's the global economist at capital economics. >> the shanghai composite is on a tear with the index touching the 4,000 level for the first time since 2008. hong kong doing well overmite. mark told cnbc what he is buying in china. >> in china we are in the banks and we are also looking at the smaller medium cap stocks. >> you said we might have a credit in china but you're holding financial stocks. >> the big banks will be safe. the large state owned banks will be okay. it's the smaller banks and smaller financial institutions that you have to watch for. >> you're pretty confident that the government is going to support growth rates at these levels because obviously that's the big concern that many investors have. >> i think what we have to realize is the growth rate in percentage terms will be trending downwards. maybe to 7s, 6.5. 6, like that. but in terms of dollars the amounts were much larger. when they were growing at 10% about 800 billion was added to the economy. now at 7%

right now the nikkei is at a 15-year high. the nikkei is about 120 or so percent since he came into office with investors betting heavily on what he believes is going to work. his new abe-nomics, the three-arrowed approach to what's taking place in japan to try to end decades of stagnation, including fiscal stimulus, monetary easing, we know what's happened with the yen and why so many investors have poured into there and structural reforms as well. perhaps we'll hear more about what's going on in the japan's markets and the economy in the news conference. josh, when you look at japan, many of the world's biggest investors are still in that marketplace. looking for big opportunities. it was great trade as of a couple of years ago, cooled off for a bit, now they're back. >> and i would point out that this is with very little participation on the part of the economy. what this really is about is the trillions of dollars that safers had essentially been losing money on or earning nothing on. and the flows starting to redirect. no

the nikkei down a third. wall street. a bubble burst in 2000.s was the name of the game in terms of recovery. we are seeing that extend this morning to australian equities. kospi gaining fractionally here. have got the south korean won see the longest rally since october 2013. futures pointing to a higher open earnings this morning. welcome to the stock exchange. let's check in with training underway in asia. a lot of buzz. [laughter] >> look at this. that's why. [laughter] >> let's go to mine and then we can go to yours. , ¥300 billion. short of even the most pessimistic. the stock is down. >> why is that? >> it is really counterintuitive. profit.europe operating it will be down 15%. it is still better than analysts had expect it. eating analysts estimate by more than ¥2 billion analyst a beating estimates by more than ¥2 billion. let's go with that. that.k at >> what is going on there? auspicious. it is in the news today because our news reports that it may greece its investment in a carmaker. -- it may increase its investment in a carmaker. t

in asia the nikkei closing above the 20,000 mark for the first time in 15 years. it was driven by international demand for financials and other large caps so we're seeing a big level hit there on the nikkei. let's talk more about asia. he's in singapore and joins us as if by magic. how are you? >> there i am. well indeed. thank you very much. multiyear highs not just for japanese equities but surprise surprise, 7 year high for the shanghai composite. so the melt up in the china markets continue. a little bit of statistics for you. the valuations are still quite reasonable all things considered despite the monster rally we have been seeing in mainland equities. they're nowhere near still the 2007 peeks. what's going on is we're still basking in the after glow of the supporting measures. the greater than expected cut. that frees up around 1.2 trillion of liquidity. a lot of that is finding it's way into the stock market and the macro picture will come into effect tomorrow. we get manufacturing numbers for the month of april. these would be important statistics in my

the dax is up 95 points debuted japan, nikkei 20k. they close up of that little for the first time in 15 years. we're switching from equities to bonds. the bond king says it is the short of a lifetime. it is just a matter of timing. later, the 2010 crash. one brit has been arrested in london. we will talk about that as well. grexit versus grexit. ♪ jon: good morning and welcome back. i'm jonathan ferro live from the city of london. this is "on the move." you may have seen a tweet from a gentle and name phil gross, the bond king. because of the short of a lifetime. german 10 year bonds. really? is it time? the opportunity of a lifetime? just a matter of timing apparently. phil: you probably want to wait 12 or 18 months because that is when the eurozone and ecb quantitative easing program ends. one of the reasons for the overvaluation ofbunds has to do with mary o -- overvaluation of bunds has to do with marion drawdy -- mario draghi. jon: when do you go short german bunds? i will at the chief investment officer at street investment whe

you talk about that japanese nikkei, first time in 20 years they hit that spot. chinese shares also getting a wind of productivity this week as we see mainland investors crash into hong kong as well. clearly they are on a bit of a role when it comes to equities. yesterday it was all about the factory industrial reduction looking pretty rosy up half a percentage point. just a little moved to see how we are doing, generally it is flat against the dollar. interesting as we suddenly see a little bit of relief into what is coming out of varoufakis lips. he seems far more conciliatory when it comes to their negotiations with europe. with the dollar let's look at it on the week, because we are up on it comes to the dollar, up almost 2.7%. the first weekly gain in a month. refocusing and we will still see that disparity in central banks. in europe we will see stimulus aplenty and we are still continuing to expect rate rises later this year as the dollar drives higher. the u.s. treasuries an interesting move, just down a little bit today and basically back flat areas we h

we have selling pressure on the nikkei.cross the region, the positive territory in wellington right now. in sydney, the asx gaming. gaining. -- n at the open.i the big data is trading numbers out of china and that will drive the markets. as we look ahead to the u.s., we will follow the dollar. at the end, the imf meetings. big focus today will be china. a big rally in hong kong, the best in the world. we will watch it carefully. rishaad: thank you. hillary clinton and in the suspense, she will seek election to the presidency in 26 team. she will spend the next-eight weeks reaching out to people -- next 6-8 weeks reaching that the people in first early voting states. probably the worst kept secret. guest: i think so. had it benobody who true doubt about it. it is official. she is in. rishaad: what we expect from er? she had an interesting announcement video. she did a locate -- low-key on social media, she put up a video that only shows hillary clinton and really the last part of the video. most of it is ordinary people were

the nikkei in a lunch break right now. shanghai continues to rise. it is a 1.3% gain on the a shares. the hang seng index of 0.3%. we come off the best weekly performance of the hang seng worldwide last week on this optimism this buying activity in chinese shares. even with this move lower in exports, investors continuing to buy into this market. rishaad: thank you. we are going to get you back to beijing. we are going to have a look at the trade data, christine. let's have a look at what this means to gdp. what are people telling you about whether this trade position is going to improve? christine: the bureau has said that while uncertainties do exist in the second quarter, the export momentum, second quarter exports are improving. it remains to be seen how much of a improve. at the same time, we have seen the world bank cut the china 2015 growth forecast to 7.1% from 7.2%. they are saying that china may need stimulus measures to counter risks, and they need to make efforts to meet trade targets. we are expecting first-quarter gdp numbers on wednesd