Stocks in Asia rose, with Hong Kong shares leading gains, in a repeat of Wednesday’s session as investors balanced China’s reopening with cautious commentary from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting.
(Bloomberg) — Stocks in Asia rose, with Hong Kong shares leading gains, in a repeat of Wednesday’s session as investors balanced China’s reopening with cautious commentary from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting.
The Hang Seng benchmark traded at the highest level since July as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. led the index for the second day as appetite grows for Chinese tech stocks. Shares in mainland China and South Korea advanced while those in Japan and Australia fluctuated. European equity futures and contracts for the S&P 500 fell.
Federal Reserve minutes from its December meeting showed many officials highlighted the need to curb inflation without slowing the economy too much, heartening some investors. Meanwhile, traders are returning to Chinese equities amid a growing conviction that the relaxation of virus curbs will eventually fuel a revival in consumption and spending.
“Optimism on reopening and supportive policy can continue to drive the market for now, along with investors’ fear of missing out, but at some point it will have to take a pause for re-evaluation,” said Vey-Sern Ling, Managing Director at Union Bancaire Privee. “It’s always hard to call an end to momentum-driven rallies.”
The yen advanced against its Group-of-10 peers, rebounding after a 1.2% decline versus the dollar on Wednesday. Benchmark Treasuries gave up some of its prior day’s gains, while sovereign debt in Australia and New Zealand rallied.
The price of crude rose after falling 9.5% in two days, including the biggest daily decline since September on Wednesday. China’s complicated reopening is one factor that drove the drop. The price of gold increased after touching the highest level since June on Wednesday.
A private services index for China showed that activities contracted at a slower pace in December. It was at 48 last month, compared to 46.7 in November.
Data released Wednesday in the US showed improving supply chain conditions, declining input prices and slower demand — all developments the Fed would welcome. But job openings data pointed to a robust labor market, which rattled investors. The nonfarm payrolls report on Friday will provide a clearer picture of the labor market.
“The Fed wanted to send a message to the market that they would not be easing or cutting rates anytime in 2023,” said Joe Gilbert, portfolio manager for Integrity Asset Management. “However, we must remember that the Fed also did not forecast raising rates by 400 basis points twelve months ago, so their forecasting ability of their own actions is sometimes quizzical.”
Read More: Fed Affirms Inflation Resolve, Pushes Back Against Rate-Cut Bets
Key events this week:
- Eurozone PPI, Thursday
- US ADP employment change, initial jobless claims, Thursday
- China trade, Caixin PMI, Thursday
- Eurozone retail sales, CPI, consumer confidence, Friday
- Germany factory orders, Friday
- US nonfarm payrolls, factory orders, durable goods, Friday
The main markets moves are:
Stocks
- S&P 500 futures fell 0.3% as of 11:21 a.m. Tokyo time. The S&P 500 rose 0.8%
- Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.5%. The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.5%
- The Hang Seng Index rose 1.5%
- Japan’s Topix was little changed
- Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was little changed
- The Shanghai Composite rose 0.7%
- Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 0.3%
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced three basis points to 3.71%
- Japan’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 0.45%
- Australia’s 10-year yield declined seven basis points to 3.83%
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.2% to $73.69 a barrel
- Spot gold was little changed
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Charlotte Yang.
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