- Asian equities cheer late-US session profits amid a quiet session.
- Virus woes stay but US President Trump defies calls of the economic shutdown.
- China’s holidays, light calendar keep traders directed to news/headlines.
Shares in Asia seem to part ways from the present coronavirus (COVID-19) woes during the early Friday. The reason could be traced from the upbeat performance of the US stock indices as well as the global leaders’ efforts to placate the bears.
The MSCI’s index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan flashes 0.30% gains while Japan’s Nikkei benefits from the BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda’s comments by rising over 1.0% to 22,540 by the press time. Further, Australia’s ASX 200 believes in PM Scott Morrison’s defying of Victoria’s surge in virus cases whereas New Zealand’s NZX 50 stays mildly bid following upbeat comments from Treasury and increasing odds of further stimulus.
Markets in China are off but Hong Kong’s return from the previous day’s holiday couldn’t find a warm welcome. As a result, Hang Seng drops 0.50% to 24,640 as we write. Moving on, India’s BSE Sensex and Indonesia’s IDX Composite are other gainers, though with small numbers, while South Korea’s KOSPI and Philippines’ PSEi Composite follow the footprints of Nikkei 225 and ASX 200.
US 10-year Treasury yields seesaw around 0.68% but stock futures print gains around 0.20% amid mostly calm markets.
Although global equities consolidate the recent losses amid a quiet session, the surge in the risk-off moves can’t be ruled out if the virus updates keep flashing red signals. Additionally, the second-tier US data and trade war updates are extra catalyst worth watching for fresh impulse.
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