GLOBAL MARKETS – Chinese tech stocks drag Asian stocks lower in messy trading

Band Alun John

HONG KONG, March 25 (Reuters)Asian stocks slipped on Friday, dragged down by a decline in Chinese tech stocks, while elsewhere trading was choppy amid hawkish U.S. monetary policy, shifts in Chinese economic policy and continued market turmoil. raw materials in the midst of the war in Ukraine.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside of Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS fell 0.47%, but after earlier gains still rose 0.5% on the week, while Japan’s Nikkei .N225 was little changed, having closed the previous day at a nine-week high.

European futures indicated a mixed open, with Euro STOXX futures STXEc1 latest rise of 0.24% and FTSE futures FFIc1 decrease of 0.1%. Future of the S&P 500 ESC1 increased by 0.1%.

In Asia, the biggest falls were in Hong Kong, where tech stocks .HSTECH fell 2.5% as dual-listed names in the US and Hong Kong were hit by renewed fears that a dispute over audit records will force them to delist in the US .

Alibaba Heavyweight Index 9988.HKfor example, lost 5.9%.

Australian stocks .AXJO slightly higher with miners in the foreground, but Chinese blue chips .CSI300 fell 1.23% as the benefits of last week’s political intervention began to fade.

“As for Asia, we have seen asset prices stabilize a bit this week following last week’s statement from the Chinese Vice Premier. This may not be sustainable unless we see some easing. and that we have better visibility on the regulatory front,” said Carlos Casanova, senior Asia economist at UBP.

“Although what we’re starting to see is a bit more caution from global investors when it comes to the US economy, and what that means for Asia,” he added. .

Last week, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said Beijing would roll out support for the Chinese economy, boosting Chinese and Hong Kong stocks at first.

Investors were also watching Japan, where the central bank refrained from intervening in the market to buy Japanese government bonds (JGBs) on Friday morning, even as its yield target came under pressure.

The yield of JGBs at 10 years JP10YTN=JBTC rose to 0.24% on Friday morning, surpassing the level at which the Bank of Japan had offered to buy unlimited JGBs at 0.25% on Feb. 10, as part of a policy to keep interest rates on hold. interest at their current ultra-low levels.

Japanese bond yields are being driven higher by US Treasury yields, which rose alongside expectations of a more aggressive pace of rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve.

US 10-year banknotes last yielded 2.3667% just off Tuesday’s 22-month high of 2.417%.

Chicago Fed Chairman Charles Evans was the latest U.S. policymaker to sound more hawkish, saying on Thursday the Fed needed to raise interest rates “in a timely manner” this year and in 2023 to rein in high inflation. before it was integrated into American psychology and became even more difficult to get rid of.

The divergence between US and Japanese monetary policies weighed on the yen, although the lack of intervention by the BOJ led to a loss of 0.7% of the dollar against the Japanese currency JPY= at 121.5 yen per dollar.

The dollar’s movements against other currencies were less dramatic, however, the US currency index against six peers = USDslightly softer at just a bit at 98.488.

Overnight, the three major U.S. stock indexes each rose more than 1% as investors bought battered shares of chipmakers and big growth names and buoyed by a slump in oil prices. .NOT

Oil continued to slide a little on Friday as the United States and its allies considered releasing more oil from storage to cool markets. Crude Brent LCOc1 down 0.21% to $118.78 a barrel and U.S. crude down 0.3% to $112 a barrel, but prices were still very high by historical standards. WHERE

Spot gold remained high at $1,957 an ounce, flat on the day. GL

World exchange rates since the beginning of the yearhttp://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh

Overall asset performancehttp://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn

Asian scholarshipshttps://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4

(Edited by Shri Navaratnam)

((alun.john@thomsonreuters.com;))

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

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