Ending March With Positive Momentum

Regional equities are mostly tracking higher, albeit sitting off highs for some indices, mostly notably HK. US futures are higher for the session, but just below highs currently. Eminis (around 4093/94) and Nasdaq futures are around 0.30/0.40% higher respectively at this point.

• Hong Kong shares surged higher at the open, the HSI up over 20700, as optimism around JD.com listing two units in HK spurred gains. Plans for Alibaba's first spin off IPO are also underway. Better China PMIs gave another leg higher, but we now sit back at 20480, still +0.84% up for the session.
• China shares also tracked higher in early trade, but now sit only 0.16% up for the CSI 300, +0.22% for the Shanghai Composite. Market sentiment was more positive at the start of March following the Feb PMI beats compared to today's reaction.
• Japan's Topix is nearly 1.3% higher, with bank stocks around 1.75% higher. Semi conductor stocks have given back earlier gains, as Japan announced curbs on chip exports. This will cover 23 types of chipmaking gear.
• Taiwan's Taiex is +0.25%, while the Kospi is around +1%, with offshore flows close to flat.
• The ASX 200 is up 0.76%, while in SEA, Philippines stocks are the main underperformers, off by over 1%. Hawkish BSP rhetoric may be weighing at the margins.