Sydney. November 23 (BNA): Asian stock markets mostly rose on Wednesday, but oil and the dollar fell as COVID-19 cases rose in China, raising fears of new lockdowns that could slow the reopening of the world’s second-largest economy.
European stocks appeared poised to follow Asia, with Euro Stoxx 50 futures up 0.33%, German DAX futures up 0.27% and FTSE futures up 0.16%. US stock futures, the S&P 500 e-minis, fell 0.07%, Reuters reported.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.4%, supported by overnight gains in US stocks. The index is up 12% so far this month.
Australian shares rose 0.63%, led by mining and resources giants. The Japanese stock market was closed due to a national holiday.
New Zealand’s central bank raised interest rates by 75 basis points – its biggest move ever – on Wednesday to a 14-year high of 4.25%, and signaled more hikes are on the way as it struggles to contain stubbornly high inflation.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.46% in early trade while China’s CSI300 was down 0.2%.
On Wednesday, China reported 29,157 new COVID-19 cases on November 22, compared to 28,127 new cases the day before. Case numbers in Beijing and Shanghai have been rising steadily, and remain high in several major manufacturing and export hubs, prompting authorities to close some facilities.
“The biggest story for investors in Asia continues to be the reopening of China,” said Suresh Tantia, chief investment analyst at Credit Suisse in Singapore.
“We have seen the Chinese markets rise by up to 20% but these expectations are being reversed and we believe that the reopening will be a slower process and not in a rush. This means that a lot of investors are reducing their exposure, cutting losses or booking any profits that might be earned on China.” “.
Meanwhile, investors await the release of the Federal Reserve’s minutes from its November policy meeting later on Wednesday as they look for any sign of discussions about adjusting the pace of rate hikes.
The consumer price index for November will be published on December 13, the day before the central bank’s final interest rate decision for 2022.
“The Fed will be very data driven and will need to see more than a weaker inflation result because a weaker month in October is not a trend,” said Clara Cheung, investment analyst at JPMorgan Asset Management.
“If November shows a slowdown in inflation, we still think the Fed will raise 50 basis points rather than lower or show any signs of it starting to turn around.”
In Asian trading, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury rose to 3.7578%, compared to the US closing at 3.758% on Tuesday.
The two-year yield, which rose as traders expected a Fed funds rate hike, came in at 4.5144% compared to the US close of 4.517%.
The dollar rose 0.13% against the yen, to 141.43.
The European single currency rose 0.1% on the day at $1.0313, while the dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of other major trading partner currencies, was slightly weaker at 107.07.
“The US dollar has lost some of its recent gains (as) the central bankers’ consensus on how much to raise interest rates is fading,” Commonwealth Bank analyst Tobin Gorrie wrote on Wednesday.
Smaller or smaller price increases may not be cause for optimism, but rather cause for less pessimism.
Oil failed to hold on to previous gains during the Asian session.
It initially rose after Saudi Arabia, the largest exporter, said that OPEC + will maintain production cuts and may take more steps to balance the market.
But prices started to fall later in the session. By midday, US crude fell 0.19% to $80.80 a barrel, and Brent crude fell 0.3% to $88.08.
Gold was a little lower. Spot gold was trading at $1,734.35 an ounce.
While the FTX crash continues to roil the cryptocurrency markets, bitcoin is up 2.2% in Asian trading hours, reaching $16,482.
MI