Asian equities rally once again

Asian equities mostly held their own yesterday in the face of the weekend Russia sanction news, although European ones, as expected, were stretchered off injured. A Ukraine-Russia meeting was as good a reason as having a clutching-at-straws rally. That’s certainly what New York thought, likely also pricing in that the West didn’t have a lot more sanctions bad news to dish out.

That saw New York unwind much of its intraday losses on a peak-Ukraine rally. The S&P 500 closed just 0.24% lower, while the Nasdaq rallied to close in positive territory, rising 0.41%. The Dow Jones, with a higher beta to the Ukraine conflict and Russian sanctions, finished only 0.50% lower. US futures have eased slightly in Asian trading.

Asian markets are rallying powerfully though on easing Ukraine fears and strong regional PMIs, especially from China. Japan’s Nikkei 225 is 1.50% higher with South Korea closed for a holiday. In China, the Shanghai Composite and CSI 300 have climbed by 0.30%, while omicron malaise sees the Hang Seng unchanged.

Singapore has jumped 0.85% higher, with Taipei leaping 1.65% higher, and Jakarta rallying by 1.05%. Malaysia is closed today but Bangkok has climbed 0.70%, and Manila by 0.85%. Australian markets are completely unperturbed by the huge flooding in Queensland and New South Wales, with the ASX 200 rising by 0.65%, and the All Ordinaries rallying by 0.85%,

The overnight price action, and a strong performance by Asia today is likely to be enough for European investors to dip their toes into the markets once again this afternoon. With a much higher correlation to the dramas in Eastern Europe, gains will be both limited and tentative and that will be the state of play in Europe for some time to come.

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