ASIA-PAC EQUITY WRAP: Asia eventually traded mixed with underperformance in China amid growth concerns

Analysis details (06:13)

Asia-Pac stock markets traded mixed with some finding respite from recent selling despite the weak lead from US where the major indices were choppy after US and UK moved to ban imports of Russian oil. This follows slightly encouraging headlines regarding Ukraine including Russia’s announcement of a "silence period" for humanitarian corridors and AFP also reported that Ukraine is no longer insisting on NATO membership which briefly underpinned risk appetite, although this was later reversed as the report was derived from a Monday evening interview with Ukrainian President Zelenskiy who voiced waning hope of joining the alliance and Russian President Putin also signed a decree on special economic measures restricting imports and exports to protect Russia's security. ASX 200 (+1.0%) was positive with nearly all sectors in the green and upside led by tech, consumer discretionary and financials, while Nikkei 225 (-0.3%) attempted to reclaim the 25k level but eventually failed to hold on to the gains after downward revisions to the final Q4 GDP data. Hang Seng (-2.3%) and Shanghai Comp. (-3.4%) retreated with Chinese sports brands underperforming in Hong Kong as Norway's sovereign wealth fund is to offload its stake in Li Ning over suspicions of forced labour use in Xinjiang and with Adidas conducting a shake-up of its top management in China as it seeks to revive sales, while participants also digested the latest Chinese inflation data which showed CPI in line with expectations at 0.9% and factory gate prices were slightly above forecasts at 8.8% vs exp. 8.7%. There were also comments from Goldman Sachs which sees China on course to miss its growth target this year by a percentage point due to the oil shock and COVID.

09 Mar 2022 - 06:13- EnergyData- Source: Newsquawk