- Asia-Pacific shares trade mixed with Japan, Australia marking losses while New Zealand, Indonesia defy the trend with small gains.
- US Congress jostles over COVID-19 stimulus, vaccine trials getting hold.
- China’s Xi suggests further easing, encourage youth from Hong Kong, Macau to move back to the mainland.
- Japan’s Industrial Production weakened in August, Australia’s Westpac Consumer Sentiment recovered for October.
Asian equities remain mostly offered ahead of Wednesday’s European session as global markets await further clues of the US fiscal stimulus deadlock and coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine trial halts. Also probing the traders is a lack of major data/events as well as mildly optimistic comments from China’s President Xi Jinping. As a result, MSCI’s index of Asia-Pacific shares, ex-Japan, drops 0.20% whereas Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Australia’s ASX 200 look for clear direction with small losses.
Chinese equities fail to cheer Xi’s readiness to spend more on the railway construction and favor belt and road cooperation. It seems that the comments pushing youth towards the mainland highlight the fear of further tension with the Western countries favoring the independence of Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Indonesia’s IDX Composite and New Zealand NZX 50 buck the trend amid a recovery in virus cases at home as well as hopes of positive election results respectively. Though, India’s BSE Sensex and South Korea’s KOSPI remain on the back foot as the broader risk environment stays trade negatively.
On the contrary, stock futures from the US and Europe part ways from the previous day’s downbeat performance on clues that the European Union (EU) is holding back trade tariffs on the hopes of Biden victory in the American presidential election. Furthermore, the early-day comments from the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Mary C. Daly were also the reason for the market’s cautious optimism.
Talking about the data, Australia’s Westpac Consumer Confidence for October grew past-9.9% forecast to 11.9% whereas Japan’s Industrial Production for August shrank more than -13.3% expected to -13.8%.
Moving on, Asian traders may have a little scope for any moves and so do the bourses in America and Brussels as the economic calendar doesn’t carry any major data/events except for a few speeches from BOE, ECB and the Fed policymakers.
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