Asian equities leap higher following Wall Street
The buy-everything trade is in full swing in Asia today after Wall Street decided yesterday that inflation wasn’t a concern and the positive sentiment gave a boost to US equities. The S&P 500 climbed 0.99%, with the tech-heavy NASDAQ leading the way with a gain of 1.41% and the Dow Jones rising 0.56%. Futures on all three have continued 0.20% higher in Asia.
The Nikkei 225 has climbed 0.55%, with the KOSPI moving 0.70% higher, but China stocks are leading the charge higher. The Shanghai Composite has leapt 1.60% higher while the CSI has charged 2.0% higher, with Hong Kong rising 1.30%. A few factors appear to have woken China markets from their recent slumber. A bullish report on China equities from Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), rumours that the PBOC is buying USD/CNY at 6.4000, capping yuan strength, and another China official body reiterating they will address “abnormal fluctuations” in commodities.
The picture is equally green across the rest of Asia. Singapore is 0.50% higher, Bangkok 0.85%, Manila 0.60%, with Taiwan rallying 1.0%, trailing Jakarta, which has leapt 1.20%. Only Kuala Lumpur is trailing, flat on the day as the economic fallout of its new wave of Covid-19 dampens its recovery outlook. Australian markets are ignoring new Covid-19 community cases in Victoria, with both the ASX 200 and All Ordinaries rising by 0.60%. With markets content to hitch their wagons to Wall Street now, Europe’s return from vacation should see bourses there open higher this afternoon.
If nothing else, the buy everything rally, which is spilling into Asian markets, naturally, highlights just how much money is waiting on the sidelines in a zero per cent world to buy any dip. As I mentioned yesterday, Wall Street’s mood swings are a complete turkey shoot at the moment, and I will wait to see if today becomes a “let’s get worried about inflation again” session, or not.