Asian stocks ended broadly higher on Tuesday as investors await U.S. President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan to be announced on Wednesday which is seen around $3 trillion-$4 trillion.
Chinese shares rose notably as upbeat corporate earnings outweighed lingering Sino-U.S. tensions and expectations of liquidity tightening.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite index inched up 21.38 points, or 0.62 percent, to 3,456.68, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended up 239.20 points, or 0.84 percent, at 28,577.50.
Japanese shares finished slightly higher as the dollar climbed to a one-year high against the yen amid a spike in Treasury yields. The Nikkei average reversed an early slide to end up 48.18 points, or 0.16 percent, at 29,432.70, while the broader Topix index closed 0.78 percent lower at 1,977.86.
Nikkei heavyweight and Uniqlo clothing shop operator Fast Retailing climbed 3.2 percent, airline ANA Holdings gained 3.5 percent and transport company Kawasaki Kisen jumped 5.2 percent, while financials ended broadly lower amid fears that global banks could lose more than $6 billion from the downfall of Archegos Capital.
Nomura Holdings ended down 0.7 percent after plunging as much as 16 percent in the previous session.
Investors shrugged off official data showing that the total value of retail sales in Japan fell an annual 1.5 percent in February. The unemployment rate in Japan came in at a seasonally adjusted 2.9 percent in February, unchanged from the January reading.
Australian markets fell for a second day as Queensland reported eight new local Covid-19 cases linked to two clusters. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dropped 61.10 points, or 0.90 percent, to 6,738.40, while the broader All Ordinaries index ended down 66.60 points, or 0.95 percent, at 6,969.80.
Miners BHP, Fortescue Metals Group and Rio Tinto fell over 2 percent despite a rebound in iron ore prices. Resolute Mining slumped 7.7 percent and Silver Lake Resources lost 5.6 percent as gold extended its biggest fall in more than three weeks.
Santos declined 1.1 percent after giving the go-ahead to its $4.7 billion Barossa gas project north of Darwin. AGL Energy tumbled 3.5 percent after the power giant said it will split off its emissions-intensive coal- and gas-fired power plants from its retailing business.
Telecom giant Telstra rose 1.2 percent to a seven-month high after a brokerage upgrade. Tech stocks such as Xero and Wisetech Global gained about 2 percent.
Seoul stocks rose sharply on strong foreign and institutional buying. The benchmark Kospi rose 33.96 points, or 1.12 percent, to 3,070 on expectations of a quick global economic recovery from the pandemic, backed by the progress in the U.S. vaccine rollout.
Chipmaker SK Hynix and top automaker Hyundai Motor both gained about 1.9 percent, while internet portal operator Naver added 1.2 percent.
New Zealand shares advanced on optimism around the trans-Tasman bubble and Covid-19 vaccine roll-out. The benchmark NZX-50 index rose 78.63 points, or 0.64 percent, to 12,446.76. Synlait Milk edged up 0.3 percent after plunging as much as 5.9 percent the previous day on the back of a poor first-half result.
The total number of building permits issued in New Zealand dropped a seasonally adjusted 18.2 percent sequentially in February, Statistics New Zealand said. That follows the downwardly revised 1.5 percent increase in January.
U.S. stocks closed mixed overnight as banks came under selling pressure amid concerns about a large hedge fund defaulting on a margin call.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 0.6 percent and the S&P 500 finished marginally lower, while the Dow edged up 0.3 percent.
Market Analysis
Asian Shares Broadly Higher On Stimulus Optimism
2021-03-30 08:39:01
