Asia Lyrics Profit Japan And China data

A number of major corporate earnings reports Japan and China manufacturing data will likely be key to the movement of trade in Asia in the coming weeks.

With Japan's earnings season in full swing, a number of blue-chip companies are closely watched ready to announce financial results interimnya.

Honda Motor Co. and Panasonic Corp. are scheduled to release a report on Monday, Hitachi Ltd. on Tuesday, and Sony Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. is ready to announce on Wednesday.

Many of these companies have seen their production - who is recovering from the devastating earthquake and tsunami in March - was flooded in Thailand, shut down their factories or their suppliers.

Sony, for instance, said earlier this month that they would delay the launch of a new digital camera because the related production problems in Thailand, while Honda has seen flooding this closing production lines in Southeast Asian countries.

Analysts will be watching closely the earnings outlook of these companies and any effect of the situation of Thailand, as well as the Japanese yen continued to be strong which has eroded profits abroad. The U.S. dollar has fallen to around level 76 yen, down from about 81 yen a year ago at this time.

Earnings report itself may show some of the issues of post-quake production from the initial quarter. Honda, for example, is expected to record 61% decline in second-quarter earnings, according to the median forecast from a Reuters survey.

Meanwhile, a pair of keys from a survey of China's manufacturing sector is scheduled for release Tuesday, and is expected to show an increase from the previous month.

Last week, HSBC released preliminary results of China Purchasing Managers Manufacturing Index, which showed a return to growth.

Index called the "flash", is based on the initial response of 85% to 90% of the survey, the figure 51.1, up from 49.9 in September and above the 50 level that separates expansion from contraction of the overall whole.

Sekuruh coming week will see the release of HSBC survey, along with government-sponsored version of the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing, which tend to be more charges against a large company.

China stocks in particular tend to react significantly to the results of the survey, which also includes a sub-component index on the input and output prices that will be watched closely for clues whether the central bank will loosen policy in the near future.

Meanwhile, Australia's central bank will also be a focus, with policy decisions that will come out on Tuesday.
By the third quarter consumer inflation comes at a relatively mild, speculation has grown that the Reserve Bank of Australia will cut interest rates.

Also due out of Australia in the coming week is Australian retail sales for September, which is scheduled on Thursday, and earnings from Westpac Banking Corp.