- Asian equities print gains as RBA extends QE post-April, China shows interest in changing terms with the US.
- US President Joe Biden has “substantive and productive” stimulus discussions with Republicans.
- Retail rush to silver, certain stocks recede amid increase regulations.
Asian shares overcome the latest market frenzy while taking help from the RBA and Chinese comments during early Tuesday. Also supporting the mood could be the increasing odds for the US coronavirus (COVID-19) stimulus as well as a sustained increase in the global covid vaccinations.
Against this backdrop, MSCI’s index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rise 1.80% whereas Japan’s Nikkei 225 adds 0.90% to 28,336 ahead of the European session. India’s BSE Sensex becomes the bloc’s leader in gains, up over 2.0%, as market sentiment gained after the union budget.
Further, Australia’s ASX 200, South Korea’s KOSPI and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng also become the bloc’s gainers with near 1.50% intraday upside while New Zealand’s NZX 50 bucks the trend with 0.45% losses by press time. Additionally, Chinese shares also follow the general optimism and rise below 1.0% whereas Indonesia’s IDX Composite struggle for a clear direction around 6,070.
The CME’s 17.8% margin hike for silver adds to the multiple trading restrictions recently announced on trading instruments, mainly concerning the US stocks. While the same disappoint traders, fears of a wild move recede drastically and hence assure less volatility in the markets to favor risks.
On the other hand, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) matched market expectations of announcing no interest rate change but stretched the bond purchase with the same $100 billion funds beyond April.
A senior Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi showed readiness to refresh the diplomatic relations with the US while saying, “China is prepared to work with the US to move the relationship forward along the track of no conflict, no confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation.”
It’s worth mentioning that US President Biden is in talks with Republicans trying to turn down his $1.9 trillion stimulus. The first round of talks was “substantive and productive” as per Mr. Biden, quoted by Reuters. Also increasing the odds of the further stimulus could be the latest comments from the Fed policymakers suggesting the need for the relief package.
Also on the positive side could be the recent jump in the covid vaccine and easing of the infections. Though, fears of variants and lost economic momentum due to a delay in the vaccinations may probe the bulls.
That said, S&P 500 Futures extend the previous day’s recovery, up 0.50%, whereas the US 10-year Treasury yields regain upside momentum towards 1.100%, currently up near 1.08%.
Moving on, a lack of major data/events may limit market moves but social media chatters and market frenzy, as well as updates on virus vaccine and aid package, shouldn’t be ignored.
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