China Shares Outperform, Mixed Trends Elsewhere As Oil Price Spike Assessed

Much of the focus today has been on the fallout from the oil price spike post the weekend news of OPEC+ cutting production. Sentiment around the region is mixed, with still some positive carry over from last week's gains in US and EU bourses helping at the margin. Still, futures for both these markets are lower today, led by the Nasdaq (-0.57%).

• This backdrop has seen some modest underperformance of tech related plays, but only at the margins. The HSI is off by 0.59%, with the tech sub index off by -1.2% at this stage. The Kospi, in South Korea is also weaker, down 0.15%.
• China shares have fared better. The CSI up nearly 0.90%, the Shanghai Composite +0.56%. Optimism around the Q2 recovery from onshore equities, along with positive housing market data likely positive catalysts. This has offset the weaker than expected Caixin manufacturing PMI for March (50.0 versus 51.4).
• Japan stocks are outperforming modestly, up close to 0.60% for the Topix index at this stage.
• Elsewhere there has been some divergence around commodity exposure. The ASX 200 up around 0.60%, while the JCI in Indonesia has risen 0.20% and Malaysia's bourse 0.34%. These markets have outperformed Thai and Indian equities, but the divergences haven't been large.