Q2 trading gets off to a bright start

THERE was much to cheer for on the first day of trading in the second quarter.

For one, both official and private Chinese purchasing managers' index figures for March not only beat expectations, they also turned around three months' of contraction.

CMC Markets' Margaret Yang told The Business Times that the data releases "left markets in Asia invigorated" after the region's equities had their best first-quarter showing in seven years.

Moreover, US-China trade talks and Friday's session on Wall Street sweetened the positive sentiment for investors here as the Straits Times Index …