While trading was up by volume by about 4% y-o-y, it rose 18% by value to $1.8 trillion, barely more than the new issues volume. Almost all the increase was in London where the most traded DR in the world has its home.

The boost came from a Japanese shopping spree ahead of a rise in the sales tax April 1, to 8% from 5%. So the boom in consumption was a one-off.

Today's publication of two contrasting purchasing managers' indexes (PMIs) may mark a major market shift. On the one hand, the HSBC March 'flash' survey of Chinese manufacturing outlook came up with a prediction of further decline.