ASIA-PAC EQUITY WRAP: Asia took impetus from the Wall St rally but with some of the gains capped after soft data releases

Analysis details (05:57)

Asia-Pac stocks traded higher as the region took its cue from the momentum on Wall Street where stocks rallied amid optimism amongst regional banks and debt ceiling talks, although some of the gains were capped as participants digested soft data releases. ASX 200 (+0.5%) was led by outperformance in tech and strength in the financial and commodity-related sectors but with advances contained after disappointing jobs data which showed a surprise contraction in Employment Change and an uptick in the Unemployment Rate. Nikkei 225 (+1.5%) surged at the open amid reports of potential Japanese subsidies for chipmakers following PM Kishida’s meeting with foreign chip executives. However, the index then stalled just shy of its best levels in over 3 decades and after weaker-than-expected trade data in which imports fell for the first time in 27 months and exports grew at the slowest pace in 26 months. Hang Seng (+1.1%) and Shanghai Comp. (+0.8%) were positive but with further gains limited after the disappointment from Tencent’s earnings which posted a 27% rise in net profit but still missed against expectations, while it was also reported that Montana became the first US state to ban TikTok which will take effect from January next year.

18 May 2023 - 05:56- EquitiesData- Source: Newsquawk