Asian stocks trade mixed before key economic data from China

Treasuries were little changed at the Asia open, with yield on the two-year note just below 4.2 percent. Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said he wants to see more evidence that US inflation is easing back to the central bank’s goal of 2 percent. New York state manufacturing activity unexpectedly expanded in April for the first time in five months as new orders and shipments snapped back.

Much of the focus in Asia will be on China and the strength of its economic recovery. Figures on Tuesday are projected to show gross domestic product expanded 4 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, well below the government’s target for full-year growth of around 5 percent. March data may show increases in industrial output, investment and retail sales.

Meanwhile, minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s policy meeting earlier this month will be parsed for signs that rates may be lifted again after a pause, while Indonesia’s central bank is expected to keep its benchmark unchanged.

A gauge of cross-asset volatility remained at 14-month low, reflecting a growing assurance that the worst of the banking turmoil and US rate hikes may be over. The VIX Index, another volatility measure, sat below 17, its lowest since the start of last year.

Still, US bank earnings on Monday didn’t entirely relieve investor nervousness that the sector can quickly bounce from turmoil that roiled several lenders earlier this year, as a so-called earnings recession in the world’s biggest economy looms.

Charles Schwab Corp. rose as executives said the firm can weather the turmoil roiling US banks, while pausing stock buybacks in response to the industry’s worst crisis since 2008. State Street Corp. fell as it reported clients retreated from its investment products.

With the earning season starting, “we’ve had estimates be revised lower for this quarter, they’re down around 7 percent, which is a pretty low bar to step over and I think you’re starting to see companies do that,” Walter Todd, chief investment officer at Greenwood Capital, said on Bloomberg Radio. “The risk lies in the second half of the year, perhaps in the earnings that need to be revised down in that period.”