Asian Equities Mixed, Tech Stocks Higher On Mac Revamp

Regional Asian equities mixed on Friday, US equities markets rallied on mixed PPI overnight, as tech outperformed after Apple announced it is preparing to overhaul its Mac line with new in-house processors highlighting AI, while earnings will kick off later today with JPM and Citigroup reporting. Japan is the top performing market in the region as the yen stabilizes, while Feb Industrial Production is expected later today, South Korea reported unemployment rate rose in March, while BOK has kept rates on hold, while New Zealand saw PMI decline in March, while card spending and Food prices ticked higher in March.

• Japan equities are higher today and now heading for a weekly rebound as tech shares followed their overseas peers higher amid optimism a solid US economy will fuel a rise in profit growth for S&P 500 companies. The yen is steady although still holding above 153.00, but off lows of 153.32 from Thursday. Investors will continue to closely watch the currency once more as Japanese authorities warned that it will consider all options to combat weakness. Most sectors are higher this morning with Banks the exception the Topix Bank Index down 0.34%, while the wider Topix Index is up 0.53% and the Tech heavy Nikkei 225 is up 0.50%
• South Korean equities have open lower today, the unemployment rate rose in March to 2.8% from 2.6% in Feb, while the BOK has kept rates on hold at 3.50%. Equity flow momentum remains strong and is by far seeing the most inflow from foreign investors in the region, with 1.35b of inflows over the past 5 trading days. The Kospi is down 0.33% after earlier being down 0.87%
• Taiwan equities have open unchanged today, equity flow momentum is negative in the short-term with the 5-day average now -$173m, and the 20-day average now -$210m. Taiwan has a quiet week ahead in terms of economic data released with the next released not until Apr 22 when the unemployment data is released. Focus will largely be on whether the recent rally continues and if government officials continue to warn local investors about chasing stretched valuations. The Taiex is up 16% for the year with the majority of those gains coming from just three stocks with TSMC contributing about 60%, Hon Hai accounting for 8% and Quanta Computers 2.5%.
• Australian equities have opened lower today, with miners and energy shares weighing on the market, while Health care and Tech trade higher. The ASX200 is trading just on the 20-day EMA which could lend some support to the market. There is little in the way of economic data until employment data on Thursday. The ASX200 is down 0.36% at 7,785.
• Elsewhere in SEA, New Zealand equities are down 0.66% after earlier saw PMI fall to 47.1 from 49.3 in Feb, while Food prices rose to -0.5% in Mar from -0.6% m/m in Feb. Singapore equities are unchanged after GDP missed expectations coming in at 2.7% vs 3.0% y/y, while MAS kept policy rates unchanged.