Equities Higher In Asia On Chinese Data & Expectations For Further Policy Support

Regional equities firmed in Asia-Pac hours, initially benefitting from the positive Wall St. lead, Monday’s RRR cut announcement on the part of the PBoC and expectations for greater focus on growth-friendly policy on the part of the broader Chinese policymaking sphere in the wake of Monday’s Politburo meeting. This was further bolstered by Securities Times source reports, which flagged a 25bp cut in PBoC relending rates covering SMEs & the rural sector, the latest leg of targeted support for those areas of the economy. Stronger than expected Chinese export and import data provided another tailwind for risk assets.

• The broader risk-positive mood, coupled with the USD/JPY uptick witnessed since yesterday’s Tokyo close, facilitated outperformance for the Nikkei 225, which added a little over 2%.
• Elsewhere, Chinese tech was one of the major beneficiaries from the issues flagged above.
• E-minis nudged higher, adding ~0.5%, benefitting from the broader risk-positive move.
• A sense of caution re: the impending Biden-Putin phone call did little to hamper broader risk appetite.