China stocks sag

Tech crackdown sours China markets

Bloomberg reports that China regulators are considering severe sanctions on Didi Global Inc over its US IPO this morning. The news sent its US-listed stock sharply lower overnight in New York, and that news, part of a relentless domestic big-tech crackdown by China, appears to be weighing on early sentiment in China markets. The Shanghai Composite has opened 0.45% lower, with the CSI 300 down 0.15%, and Hong Kong, home to many China tech-heavyweight listings, falling 0.85%.

 

That contrasted with a positive session in the US overnight, where a continuous stream of positive earnings results and fading delta fears saw Wall Street rise once again overnight. The S&P 500 gained 0.20%, with the Nasdaq climbing 0.36% and the Dow Jones adding just 0.07%. Beneath the bonnet, though, the quiet rotation back into more defensive 2020 darlings at the expense of growth appears to be continuing.

 

Impressive results from Twitter and Snap after the market close sent the Nasdaq and S&P 500 futures 0.35% higher, and that appears to be offsetting the China tech-scare in markets ex-China this morning. Japan is closed, but the Kospi has risen by 0.15%, with Taipei 0.35% higher and Singapore and Kuala Lumpur edging 0.15% to the green.

 

Australian markets are also modestly higher despite an extension to the Sydney lockdown and New Zealand just announcing a suspension to the Australia New Zealand travel bubble. It seems that news was expected, and both the ASX 200 and All Ordinaries remain 0.15% higher for the session.

 

Asian markets look content to ride out Friday with a no-further-bad-news-is-good news rally. For now, the markets appear unconcerned about either Covid or inflation and the same theme should ensure Europe and US markets finish in much the same manner. German, French Eurozone and US Markit PMI’s this afternoon will be of passing interest to financial markets in a thin data calendar week unless there are some serious downside surprises.

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