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Benchmarks rose in mainland China and Japan, while dropping in Hong Kong and Australia. Shares of Chinese brokers surged amid speculation of further policy support for the financial sector. A call by the country’s regulators on lower commissions for housing sales and rentals also boosted sentiment, driving the shares of developers higher.
Futures for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 both edged lower in Asia. The S&P 500 ended on Monday fractionally higher after jumping 1.9% on Friday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 gained 0.3% as AI-capable chipmakers Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Nvidia Corp. rose alongside Google-parent Alphabet Inc.
China’s exports rose faster in April than economists forecast, signalling that global demand remains robust. The offshore yuan weakened.
“If we look at the exports statistics, we’re seeing very significant and ahead-of-expectation strength coming out of the export sector,” James Sullivan, head of Asia Pacific equity research at JPMorgan Chase & Co., said on China’s economy on Bloomberg Radio. “That’s counter to what we’re seeing particularly out of tech exports in Korea and Taiwan, and it’s very clear evidence that there’s not a lot of decoupling actually going on on the ground.”
The dollar crept higher in early Asian trading, heading for a second day of gains. The greenback reversed earlier losses on Monday after the Federal Reserve’s Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey signalled the credit market was tightening, while business loan demand was weakening. Australian and New Zealand bonds slipped on Tuesday.
The yen was little changed after Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said the central bank will end its yield curve control policy if it reaches its 2% price goal.
Treasuries steadied in Asia trading hours after falling Monday as investors considered what it would take to finally reverse the Fed’s path on rates. Bond trading desks are bracing for as much as $35-billion of corporate debt sales this week, while Apple Inc. kicked off a $5.25-billion sale.
Investors will be watching US President Joe Biden and congressional leaders as they are set to discuss the debt-ceiling issue. Meanwhile, consumer-inflation data Wednesday may provide further clues on the Fed’s path and set the tone for equities.
Debt ceiling impasse
For the time being, the debt ceiling impasse is offering a short-term yield opportunity, according to Asia Pacific strategists at Saxo Capital Markets, including Charu Chanana.
“Further concerns on credi
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