SINGAPORE – Futures pointed to a mixed opening in Asia-Pacific markets as investors will closely monitor the market reaction to Covid fears in China as Beijing expands mass testing.
Japan’s Nikkei Chicago futures contract was at 26,875 while Osaka futures were at 26,810 – higher than the Nikkei 225’s last close at 26,590.78.
However, futures pointed to a lower open for Australian stocks as markets returned from a bank holiday on Monday. The SPI futures contract was at 7,298 versus the S&P/ASX 200’s last close at 7,473.3.
Markets reacted negatively to the news that Covid was spreading faster in China, prompting fears of additional lockdowns and reduced production. This directly impacted the Asian markets and also impacted the global financial markets.
ANZ research
Brian Martin and Daniel Hynes
As for earnings, HSBC is due to announce its first quarter results. Economic data for Tuesday includes South Korea’s gross domestic product for the first quarter.
The Chinese markets will be the focus for investors in the coming days. Stocks in the mainland and Hong Kong slumped on Monday as worries over a Covid surge and possible lockdowns in Beijing took hold.
Markets will be watching the reaction to Beijing’s announcement late Monday that mass testing will be expanded to an additional 10 districts and one economic development area, according to Reuters.
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“Markets reacted negatively to the news that COVID was spreading faster in China, prompting fears of further lockdowns and reduced production. This directly impacted Asian markets and impacted global financial markets as well,” ANZ Research analysts Brian Martin and Daniel Hynes wrote in a Tuesday note.
US stocks were in negative territory earlier in the day but recovered by the close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average trimmed an intraday loss of nearly 500 points on Monday, rising 238.06 points, or 0.7%, to 34,049.46. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% to 4,296.12. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.3% to 13,004.85.
currencies
The US Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, came in at 101.752, extending its rise from just above 101.
The Japanese yen traded at 128.02 per dollar, a tad firmer from above 128.1 previously. The Australian dollar was at $0.7177, trading slightly lower than before at around $0.718.
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