Covid Headwinds Continue To Weigh on China/HK Indices

Most regional markets are lower, following the negative lead from US markets overnight. Losses have mostly been in the -1% to -2% range. A modestly firmer tone to US futures hasn't provided much of an offset, although gains are fairly limited (+0.20+ 0.30%) ahead of the all important US CPI print tonight. Stress in the crypto space will be the other watch point, with Bitcoin up +3.2% so far today, but this follows a 25.5% drop in the previous 2 sessions.

• China's domestic covid news has generally been negative. Total daily case numbers have continued to climb, near 8.5k, versus 7.7k reported yesterday. Two districts in the Chongqing region also tightened covid related restrictions further.
• The CSI 300 is off by around 1% at this stage, while the Shanghai Composite is down 0.50%. The property sub-index continues to recovery, up a further 0.50%, building on yesterday's +2% rise, which came on the back of additional funding support for the sector.
• The HSI is off close to 1.90%, with Alibaba weighing. Citi reported that Singles Day sales spending is likely to be soft given China's weaker macro backdrop (per Bloomberg reports). Note also the Golden Dragon Index fell 6.65% overnight.
• The rebound in the Kospi has stalled, the index off 0.70%, with offshore investors unloading -$176mn shares so far today. The Taiex is also down 1%, while the Nikkei 225 is down a little over 1%. Broader tech indices weakened overnight, weighing on sentiment in the space today.