ASIA-PAC EQUITY WRAP: Asian stocks failed to sustain Wall St momentum with the regional bourses mostly in the red amid reports of future US investment curbs on China

Analysis details (06:01)

Asia-Pac stocks were mostly lower after the region failed to sustain the momentum from Wall St where tech and small caps outperformed after NY Fed Manufacturing data softened the blow from recent Chinese data. ASX 200 (-0.3%) was subdued as participants digested the RBA Minutes from the July 4th meeting which noted that the Board agreed some further tightening may be required and will reconsider at the August meeting, while it also noted the economy had slowed considerably and that consumer spending is seen weak in Q2. Nikkei 225 (+0.2%) initially advanced on return from the long weekend but then suffered a reality check and momentarily faded all of its gains amid weakness in its peers. Hang Seng (-2.2%) and Shanghai Comp. (-0.4%) were lower with property stocks leading the declines in Hong Kong after the long-delayed results from the world’s most indebted developer Evergrande which suffered a net loss of CNY 476bln and CNY 105.9bln for 2021 and 2022, respectively. The US-China relationship also remained in focus with amicable comments in talks between US Climate Envoy Kerry and China’s top diplomat Wang Yi, although this was somewhat negated by reports the US aims to propose China investment limits by the end of next month and that President Biden is weighing new curbs on chips and semiconductor-making devices.

18 Jul 2023 - 05:59- Fixed IncomeEconomic Commentary- Source: Newsquawk