Asia equity markets are having a mixed day
The buy-the-dippers couldn’t help themselves on Wall Street overnight as both the Nasdaq and S&P 500 shrugged of inflationary data retraced some of their losses overnight, helped by a retracement low in 30-year yields, flattening the yield curve. The S&P 500 rose 0.23% while the Nasdaq finished 0.44% higher. The Dow Jones was weighed down by retail names but finished only 0.03% lower. In Asia, futures have climbed once again, the Dow and S&P futures rising 0.30%, with Nasdaq futures 0.15% higher.
With the US on holiday, Asian markets have been left to their own devices leading to a very mixed day across the region. The Nikkei 225 has climbed 0.75% following Wall Street, while the Kospi is 0.40% lower following a BoK rate hike and hawkish comments afterwards from the BOK Governor.
In China, the Shanghai Composite is flat while further US tech company bans see the CSI 300 fall by 0.30%. Hong Kong is remarkably quiet, the Hang Seng up just 0.10% today.
ASEAN markets are equally mixed. Singapore is having a quiet day, down 0.15%. The city-state is rapidly reopening its economy internationally and recovering domestic demand should outperform the export sector in Q1 2022. The Singapore/Malaysia partial reopening of the land border on 29 November being but one example. The Monetary Authority of Singapore has started tightening monetary policy via the NEER. The MAS will likely remain hawkish at its next policy decision in Q2 of 2022.
Kuala Lumpur is down 0.15% and Taipei is up just 0.10%. Jakarta has climbed 0.55% higher while Bangkok is flat and Manila is 0.65% lower. Australian markets are content to mark time as the side-ways price action this week continues. Both the ASX 200 and All Ordinaries creeping 0.10% higher.
With a US holiday dampening activity today, European markets are likely to struggle once again, as potentially wider virus restrictions across the continent continue to dampen sentiment.
