New Zealand Unemployment Data Due On Thursday

(RTTNews) - New Zealand will on Thursday release unemployment numbers for the fourth quarter of 2018, highlighting a modest day for Asia-Pacific economic activity.

The jobless rate is tipped to come in at 4.1 percent, up from 3.9 percent in the three month prior. Employment is expected to have added 0.3 percent on quarter and 2.6 percent on year, slowing from the 1.1 percent quarterly increase and the 2.8 percent yearly gain in Q3.

Australia will see January results for the Performance of Construction Index from AiG and Q4 figures for the NAB business confidence index. In December, the construction index score was 42.6, while the business confidence index score in Q3 was +3.

Japan will provide preliminary December results for its leading and coincident indexes. The leading index is expected to show a score of 97.9, down from 99.1 in November. The coincident is pegged at 102.2, down from 102.9 a month earlier.

Finally, the markets in Taiwan, China and Hong Kong remain closed for the Lunar New Year holiday. Hong Kong will be back in action on Friday, while China and Taiwan are closed until Monday.