Asian equities remain bunkered down

Quiet start for Asian markets

A quiet weekend of news, and a non-descript New York finish sees Asian markets content to remain hunkered down as the week starts, with much of Europe on holiday as well. On Friday, New York had a mixed finish with markets indulging in a bit of cyclical rotation after some tech gains in previous sessions. The S&P 500 slipped 0.07%, with the Nasdaq falling 0.48%, while the Dow Jones climbed by 0.37%. Futures on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have advanced by 0.25% in Asia this morning, suggesting that last week’s rage-trading will continue this week. Taiwan has risen 0.40%.

The Nikkei 225 has risen by 0.40% while the Kospi is flat. The Shanghai Composite and CSI 300 are just 0.10% higher while Hong Kong has fallen 0.45% after more ructions amongst China tech executives over the weekend. ASEAN markets have hitched their cyclical recovery wagons to the Dow outperformance on Friday. Kuala Lumpur leads the region higher, rising 0.80% after oil prices spiked on Friday. Singapore is 0.35% higher with Jakarta edging up by 0.25%. Australian markets are subdued, perhaps with one eye on China’s commodity price displeasure. The ASX 200 and All Ordinaries have risen just 0.15%.

Asia is definitely in wait-and-see mode today, with a light data calendar in Asia. Singapore releases its Inflation and Core Inflation Rates for April today, expected to rise to 2.0% and 0.90% respectively YoY. Taiwan should release a strong data-set of Unemployment, Industrial Production and Retail Sales, which will be flattered by YoY effects. We also receive Thailand Manufacturing, South Korean Consumer Sentiment plus their Manufacturing BSI tomorrow with China Industrial Profits Thursday and Malaysian Trade on Friday. The data should both reinforce the recovery theory and also that prices are rising.

Activity will ease this afternoon with the United Kingdom the only major market open across the Western Europe area. The US open is a lottery and will depend on headline risk, but they’ll probably buy the dip from Friday.

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