© Reuters. A man wearing a protective mask, in the midst of the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), walks past an electronic board showing (top) Nikkei index charts outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan , March 10, 2022. REUTERS / Kim Kyung-Hoon
By Stella Qiu and Alun John
BEIJING / HONG KONG (Reuters) – Asian equities tracked a fall in global equities on Friday as the European Central Bank’s rate hike guide and concerns about the upcoming US inflation data go fueling concerns about global growth, while stocks in China rose in the hope of politics. loosen.
The broader stock index for Asia and the Pacific outside of Japan fell 0.9%, weighted by a 1.2% drop in Australia, with plenty of resources, and a decline in the 1.5% in South Korea. fell 1.4%.
The fall will continue when European markets open. The pan-regional fell 0.99%, the Germans fell 0.92% and futures fell 0.87%.
However, continued strong buying by foreign investors and cautious hopes of a regulatory easing of technology companies boosted shares in China on Friday, despite news that the cities of Beijing and Shaanghai were back in COVID-19 alert.
China’s CSI300 blue-chip index rose 0.41%, while Hong Kong equities cut previous losses to 0.2%.
Hong Kong-listed technology giants, which had a strong impact on initial operations, reversed losses to 0.9%, driven by a change in fortune in Hong Kong’s Alibaba (NYSE) shares. :), which increased 1.8%.
Reuters reported that Chinese authorities have given the provisional green light to billionaire Jack Ma’s Ant Group to reactivate its initial public offering (IPO), following a Bloomberg story that China is considering reactivating the IPO.
Despite the denials of the company and the securities regulator, investors took it as a sign that a long regulatory crackdown on technology companies is easing, in line with the broadly accommodating position recently of the main political leaders of the China.
“It’s a sign that Beijing has come out to tell you that they’ve gone from repression to support, so there’s not much uncertainty anymore,” said Jason Hsu, founder and CIO of Rayliant Global Advisors.
“China is now beginning to enter a circle of relaxation, which is certainly a good thing for the stock market. Shares have fallen well before, so now they will rise again and make up for the losses. I think it is highly anticipated.”
China’s factory inflation cooled at its slowest pace in May in 14 months due to restrictions on COVID-19, while consumer inflation also remained moderate.
This would allow China’s central bank to launch more stimulus to prop up the economy even as monetary authorities in most other countries strive to reduce inflation with aggressive interest rate hikes.
On Thursday, the European Central Bank said it would offer its first interest rate hike since 2011 next month, followed by a potentially larger move in September.
“Global stocks came under pressure after the ECB issued its guidelines and (ECB President Christine) Lagarde noted rising inflation risks,” ANZ analysts said in a note on Friday. .
“And with energy prices still rising, it is still unclear whether inflation has peaked. Fed policy and policy action may have to become more aggressive for longer. Financial markets are nervous “.
Investors expect the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates by 50 basis points next week, especially if US consumer price data on Friday confirms high inflation.
The consensus forecast is for a year-on-year inflation rate for May of 8.3%, unchanged from April.
Wall Street shares fell as the market waited for price data. The Nasdaq and Nasdaq fell more than 2% in their largest daily percentage falls since mid-May.
In foreign exchange markets, the US dollar fell 0.2% against a basket of major currencies, moving away from its highest level in three weeks ahead of the US inflation report.
On Friday, the two-year yield, which is rising with traders’ expectations of rising Fed fund rates, continued to rise to around the highest level since early May. It touched 2.8352% compared to a US close of 2.817%.
The benchmark yield also rose slightly to 3.0568% compared to the US close of 3.042% on Thursday.
Oil prices fell after parts of Shanghai imposed new blockade measures. it fell 0.52% to $ 120.88 a barrel. it fell 0.6% to $ 122.38 a barrel.
Gold fell on Friday and headed for a weekly drop as Treasury yields rose. traded at $ 1,844.58 an ounce. [GOL/]