Asia-Pac Equities Struggle Even With Hang Seng Tech Bid, E-Minis Nudge Higher

Broader risk assets struggled in early Asia-Pac trade, without much of a headline driver evident.

• A bid in Hong Kong tech names then seemed to stabilise wider risk sentiment, allowing e-minis to trade back in the green.
• The bid in Hong Kong tech names was aided by after hours news from Thursday, which saw Beijing release its regular round of computer game approvals, which will have supported related names. Also of note, Meituan, the food delivery company, will report Q4 earnings later today.
• The Hang Seng Tech Index is off best levels, but still prints more than 1% firmer on the day.
• Broader financials generally struggled after a heavy session for U.S. bank names on Thursday, with the well-documented worry re: the space still reverberating.
• The major regional equity benchmarks all trade lower, albeit by less than 1%, while the 3 major e-mini contracts are 0.1% better off into London hours.