A man wearing a protective mask, amid 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
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HONG KONG, June 28 (Reuters) – Asian stocks entered positive territory in trading on Tuesday afternoon, boosted by China’s decision to ease some quarantine requirements for international arrivals, with particular support of Hong Kong shares.
MSCI’s broader Asia-Pacific non-Japan equities index (.MIAPJ0000PUS) rose 0.5%, after spending most of the day in the red. The index has fallen 3.8% so far this month.
Health officials said Tuesday that China will halve its COVID-19 quarantine period for visitors from abroad, with three more days at home. Read more
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Following the news, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (.HSI) reversed its losses and rose 0.85% in afternoon trading.
In China, the CSI300 blue-chip index (.CSI300) was 1% higher, also after recovering from previous losses.
It seemed that the strong change of mood would last until the world day, with the futures of the Euro Stoxx 50 for the whole region 0.31%, the German futures of the DAX 0.2% more and FTSE futures 0.47%. US stock futures rose 0.46%.
“With new local infections falling even further in June and COVID’s brakes to ease further, we expect the (Chinese) economy to continue to recover,” BofA said in its note. “That said, given COVID’s soft domestic demand and persistent uncertainties, the road to repair is likely to be bumpy in the coming months.”
Market sentiment was also bolstered by an official’s remarks that Beijing would launch tools to meet economic challenges, as outbreaks of COVID-19 and the risks of the Ukrainian war pose a threat to employment and price stability. Read more
Australian stocks (.AXJO) were up 0.86%, while the Japanese Nikkei index (.N225) was up 0.66%.
US equities closed a slightly lower volatile trading session on Monday with few catalysts to influence investor sentiment as they approach the middle of a year in which equity markets have seen affected by rising inflation concerns and tightening Fed policy.
Interest-sensitive megacaps like Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN.O), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT.O) and Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL.O) were the heaviest frictions of major U.S. indices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) fell 0.2%, the S&P 500 (.SPX) lost 0.30% and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) fell 0.72%.
Oil continued to rise and investors still weighed on concerns about an economic slowdown in the face of concerns about the loss of Russian supply amid sanctions related to the conflict in Ukraine.
US crude rose 1.02% to $ 110.69 a barrel. Brent crude rose to $ 116.42 a barrel.
“A tight supply news sequence strengthened the (oil) market,” Commonwealth Bank of Australia analysts said. “Political unrest could reduce the supply of a couple of second-tier producers, Ecuador and Libya. And then there is the price limit for Russian oil proposed by the G7.”
In bond markets, Treasury yields rose on Monday after capital goods and durable goods orders data and as pending home sales surprised surprisingly up from the previous month.
Yields on 10-year benchmark Treasury bonds last reached 3.1828% on Tuesday, compared with the U.S. closing of 3.194% on Monday. The two-year yield, which is rising with traders ’expectations of rising Fed fund rates, touched 3.0934%.
In addition, the dollar fell compared to major rivals as investors weighed on expectations about inflation and rising interest rates. The dollar index, which tracks the dollar compared to a basket of currencies from other major trading partners, fell to 103.96.
Gold was slightly higher with the spot price at $ 1,825.79 per ounce.
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Report by Julie Zhu; Edited by Sam Holmes
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