Adds line on Chinese industrial profits. -...>

STOCKS: Adds line on Chinese industrial profits.

- The major Chinese equity indices underperformed on Wednesday, with the

remainder of the major regional Asia-Pac equity markets ticking higher on the

back of the fresh record highs that were set on Wall St.

- The Chinese underperformance stemmed from the latest round of communique from

MSCI. MSCI noted that it will only consider adding more A-shares to its widely

track indices after China moves to curb worries re: accessibility of its capital

markets. Some of the concerns shared by the index provider were as follows: a

short settlement cycle, holiday skew vs. Hong Kong, limited broker order

placement mechanisms and the need for a deeper suite of hedging tools. The

weakest round of Chinese industrial profit data on record (since 2011 under the

current series) also weighed on local sentiment.

- Nikkei 225 +0.5%, Hang Seng unch., CSI 300 -0.2%, ASX 200 +0.6%.

- S&P 500 futures +2, DJIA futures +4, NASDAQ 100 futures +10.