By Gina Lee
Investing.com – Asian stocks were mostly up on Thursday morning, with U.S. markets reversing their losses from Wednesday’s U.S. big tech stocks selloff during the previous session.
But some investors said that U.S. stocks’ reversal would have a minimal impact in Asia, as it has already been reflected in some markets, National Australia Bank (OTC:NABZY) senior FX strategist Rodrigo Catril told Reuters.
“We still expect markets to open with a positive turn, but we don’t expect a meaningful acceleration of it … it should be a positive open but not a bombastic open,” he added.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.49% by 10:25 PM ET (3:25 AM GMT). There seemed to be disagreement over the timing of general elections, with Defense Minister Taro Kono saying on Wednesday that he expects a general election in October. However, Kono’s comments contradicted Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, who does not expect elections to take place for around another year. Suga is widely tipped to be selected as the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s leader on September 16, the first step to succeed incumbent prime minister Shinzo Abe.
Meanwhile, the Tokyo government is looking to lower its COVID-19 alert from the highest level, as the number of cases continues to come down. The city recorded 149 new cases on Wednesday, down from the peak of 472 cases seen in August.
South Korea’s KOSPI gained 0.62% and in Australia, the ASX 200 was up 0.39%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 0.30%. China’s Shanghai Composite edged up 0.14% and the Shenzhen Component jumped 1.40%.
But some investors warned that elevated volatility could see another stocks selloff.
“We are in a recovery, but this recovery is about to slow down,” JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) Asset Management chief global strategist David Kelly told Bloomberg.
“It’s important for investors at this stage to be disciplined and realize that just because we’ve seen some good economic numbers and because the market seems to be OK here, don’t take your eye off the ball,” he added.
Investors are now looking to the European Central Bank’s latest policy decision and the weekly U.S. jobless claims data, both due later in the day.